Wireless LAN Mobility System
Wireless LAN Switch Manager
User’s Guide
WX4400 3CRWX440095A
WX1200 3CRWX120695A
WXR100 3CRWXR10095A
WX2200 3CRWX220095A
Part No. 10015403 Rev. AA
Published August 2006
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CONTENTS
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3WXM
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ABOUT THIS GUIDE
This manual shows you how to plan, configure, deploy, and manage a
Mobility System wireless LAN (WLAN) using the 3Com Wireless LAN
Switch Manager (3WXM) tool suite.
Read this manual if you are a network administrator or a person
responsible for managing a WLAN.
If release notes are shipped with your product and the information there
differs from the information in this guide, follow the instructions in the
release notes.
Most user guides and release notes are available in Adobe Acrobat
Reader Portable Document Format (PDF) or HTML on the 3Com
World Wide Web site:
Conventions
Table 1 Notice Icons
Icon
Notice Type
Description
Information note Information that describes important features or
instructions
Caution
Information that alerts you to potential loss of data or
potential damage to an application, system, or device
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10
ABOUT THIS GUIDE
This manual uses the following text and syntax conventions:
Table 2 Text Conventions
Convention
Description
Menu Name >
Command
Indicates a menu item that you select. For example,
File > New indicates that you select New from the File
menu.
Monospace text Sets off command syntax or sample commands and system
responses.
Bold text
Highlights commands that you enter or items you select.
Italic text
Designates command variables that you replace with
appropriate values, or highlights publication titles or words
requiring special emphasis.
[ ] (square brackets)
{ } (curly brackets)
| (vertical bar)
Enclose optional parameters in command syntax.
Enclose mandatory parameters in command syntax.
Separates mutually exclusive options in command syntax.
Keyboard key names If you must press two or more keys simultaneously, the key
names are linked with a plus sign (+). Example:
Press Ctrl+Alt+Del
Words in italics
Italics are used to:
„
Emphasize a point.
„
Denote a new term at the place where it is defined in the
text.
„
Highlight an example string, such as a username or SSID.
Documentation
The 3WXM documentation set includes the following documents.
„
„
„
Wireless LAN Switch Manager (3WXM) Release Notes
These notes provide information about the 3WXM software release,
including new features and bug fixes.
Wireless LAN Switch and Controller Release Notes
These notes provide information about the MSS software release,
including new features and bug fixes.
Wireless LAN Switch and Controller Quick Start Guide
This guide provides instructions for performing basic setup of secure
(802.1X) and guest (WebAAA™) access, for configuring a Mobility
Domain for roaming, and for accessing a sample network plan in
3WXM for advanced configuration and management.
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Documentation Comments
11
„
Wireless LAN Switch Manager Reference Manual
This manual shows you how to plan, configure, deploy, and manage a
Mobility System wireless LAN (WLAN) using the 3Com Wireless LAN
Switch Manager (3WXM).
„
Wireless LAN Switch Manager User’s Guide (this document)
This guide shows you how to plan, configure, deploy, and manage a
Mobility System wireless LAN (WLAN) using the 3Com Wireless LAN
Switch Manager (3WXM). It contains information about
recommended system requirements you should meet for optimum
3WXM performance, installing 3WXM client and 3WXM Services
software, and an introduction to using the 3WXM interface.
„
„
„
Wireless LAN Switch and Controller Hardware Installation Guide
This guide provides instructions and specifications for installing a WX
wireless switch in a Mobility System WLAN.
Wireless LAN Switch and Controller Configuration Guide
This guide provides instructions for configuring and managing the
system through the Mobility System Software (MSS) CLI.
Wireless LAN Switch and Controller Command Reference
This reference provides syntax information for all MSS commands
supported on WX switches.
Documentation
Comments
Your suggestions are very important to us. They will help make our
documentation more useful to you. Please e-mail comments about this
document to 3Com at:
Please include the following information when contacting us:
„
„
„
Document title
Document part number and revision (on the title page)
Page number (if appropriate)
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12
ABOUT THIS GUIDE
Example:
„
„
„
Wireless LAN Switch and Controller Configuration Guide
Part number 730-9502-0071, Revision B
Page 25
Please note that we can only respond to comments and questions about
3Com product documentation at this e-mail address. Questions related to
Technical Support or sales should be directed in the first instance to your
network supplier.
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GETTING STARTED
1
This chapter contains information about recommended system
requirements you should meet for optimum 3WXM performance,
installing 3WXM client and 3WXM Services software, and an introduction
to using the 3WXM interface.
Hardware
Requirements for
3WXM Client
3WXM client on Windows and Linux platforms.
Table 3 Hardware Requirements for Running 3WXM Client on Windows and
Linux
Minimum
Recommended
Processor
RAM
Intel Pentium 4, 2 GHz or
equivalent
Intel Pentium 4, 3 GHz or
equivalent
512 MB
100 MB
1 GB
Hard drive space
available
200 MB
Monitor resolution
1024x768 pixels, 24-bit
color
1600x1200 pixels, 32-bit
color
CD-ROM drive
CD-ROM or equivalent
CD-ROM
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14
CHAPTER 1: GETTING STARTED
Hardware
Requirements for
3WXM Services
Table 4 shows the minimum and recommended requirements to run the
3WXM Services on Windows and Linux platforms.
Table 4 Hardware Requirements for Running 3WXM Services on Windows and
Linux
Minimum
Recommended
Processor
RAM
Intel Pentium 4, 2.4 GHz or Intel Pentium 4, 3.6 GHz or
equivalent
1 GB
equivalent
2 GB
Hard drive space
available
1 GB
2 GB
Monitor resolution
1024x768 pixels, 24-bit
color
1600x1200 pixels, 32-bit
color
CD-ROM drive
CD-ROM or equivalent
CD-ROM
Software
Requirements
3WXM client and 3WXM Services are each supported on the following
operating systems:
„
„
„
„
Microsoft Windows Server 2003
Microsoft Windows XP with Service Pack 1 or higher
Microsoft Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4
SUSE Linux 9.1 and Red Hat WS 3
You must use the English version of the operating system you select.
Operating system versions in other languages are not supported with
3WXM.
The following additional software is required for certain 3WXM features:
„
Web browser (for example, Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.x or 6.x or
Netscape Navigator 6.x or 7.x)—For displaying 3WXM online help,
work orders, and reports
„
„
Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.x or later (or plug-in)—For reading the
manuals and release notes
HP OpenView Network Node Manager 6.4 or later—Must be installed
prior to 3WXM if you plan to use 3WXM in your HP OpenView
environment
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Preparing for Installation
15
Preparing for
Installation
A licensed copy of 3WXM comes with a base license key. Before you
install 3WXM, make sure you have the appropriate administrative
privileges on the system.
After you have installed 3WXM, you will need to register your license and
the serial number with 3Com in order to obtain an activation key.
The base key along with its activation key enables you to manage up to
10 wireless LAN switches. To manage more than 10 wireless LAN
switches, you also need an upgrade key and an additional activation key,
which you obtain from 3Com. See “Serial Number and License Key”
below for more information.
User Privileges Before you install 3WXM, make sure that you are logged in as a user who
has permission to install software, or as an administrator.
After you install 3WXM, you can configure 3WXM access privileges for
the user accounts on the machine. Likewise, you can configure access
privileges for the monitoring service, if installed. Access privileges for the
3WXM client are completely independent of access privileges for the
monitoring service, and are configured separately.
Serial Number and 3WXM comes with a base license key, which is provided on the CD cover.
License Key To use 3WXM Services, you need to enter the base key and an activation
key, which you obtain from 3Com. The base key and activation key
enable you to manage up to 10 wireless LAN switches. To manage more
than 10 wireless LAN switches, you also need an upgrade key and
additional activation key, which you obtain from 3Com.
Each time you connect the 3WXM client to the 3WXM Services, it checks
the license information. If the product is not licensed, the License wizard
is displayed.
If you do not have a license key, you can run 3WXM for 30 days. Once
this trial period is over, you will need to purchase a license to continue
running the 3WXM software.
HP OpenView If you want to integrate 3WXM into your HP OpenView environment, you
Network Node have the option of installing the HP OpenView plug-in required to use
Manager Network Node Manager with 3Com products. Make sure that HP
OpenView is already installed before installing 3WXM with the plug-in.
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16
CHAPTER 1: GETTING STARTED
requirements and memory allocation based on the number of radios and
WX switches your server will support. A larger number of WX switches
implies more connections and data processing, and consequently, more
CPU is required. A larger number of radios implies more data (including
client sessions) which requires more RAM and storage.
Table 5 Recommended Server Hardware Allocation
Number of Radios 1-25 WX Switches 25-50 WX Switches 50+ WX Switches
1 – 1000
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2.4 GHz P4
500 MB RAM
1 GB HD
„
„
„
„
„
„
2.8 GHz P4
500 MB RAM
1 GB HD
„
„
„
„
„
„
3.2 GHz Xeon
1 GB RAM
1 GB HD
1000 – 2000
2.4 GHz P4
1 GB RAM
2 GB HD
3.0 GHz P4
1 GB RAM
2 GB HD
3.6 GHz Xeon
2 GB RAM
2 GB HD
3WXM Services Options
3WXM Services can be installed either in standalone mode or shared
mode. Standalone mode is when 3WXM client and 3WXM Services are
installed on one machine. Standalone mode is primarily used for trying
out 3WXM, while shared mode is used in a working environment. In
shared mode, the administrator sets up 3WXM Services on a single host
(typically with more resources) and other hosts with the client 3WXM
application share 3WXM Services to access network plans and monitoring
information. See Figure 1.
Figure 1 3WXM Services in Shared Mode
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Installing 3WXM
17
Installing 3WXM
To install the 3Com Wireless Switch Manager, follow the instructions
below for your operating system.
Installing 3WXM on To install 3WXM on a Windows system:
Windows Systems
The 3WXM install program installs either just the 3WXM client, or both
the 3WXM client and Services. There is no option to install the
3WXM Services only.
1 Insert the 3WXM CD in the CD-ROM drive.
If Autorun is enabled, wait briefly for the install program to start.
If Autorun is disabled, follow these steps:
a In Windows Explorer, navigate to your CD-ROM drive.
b In the Software\3WXM directory, double-click install.exe.
The Introduction page of the 3Com Wireless Switch Manager installation
wizard appears, and then the Contents screen appears, as shown in the
following figure.
2 Open the 3Com Wireless Switch Management folder.
3 Select 3Com Wireless Switch Manager.
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18
CHAPTER 1: GETTING STARTED
4 Click the View button.
The 3Com Wireless LAN Switch Manager (3WXM) information screen appears.
5 Click the Install button.
The installation begins. During the installation, the 3Com Wireless Switch
Manager installation wizard minimizes.
6 When the installation is complete, maximize the 3Com Wireless Switch
Manager installation wizard screen, and then press the Contents button.
7 Press the Exit button to close the wizard, or navigate to the other items
on the CD.
Installing 3WXM on The same 3WXM install program installs either 3WXM client, 3WXM
Linux Systems Services, or both.
To install 3WXM on a Linux system:
„
Unpack files
„
Use the Installation Wizard
Unpacking Files
To unpack files on Linux systems:
1 Log in as superuser.
2 Insert the 3WXM CD in the CD-ROM drive.
3 For the platform on which you are installing 3WXM, click the appropriate
Installer link.
4 Save the installation binary to a directory.
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Installing 3WXM
19
5 Open a shell window.
6 Use the cd command to go to the directory in which you saved the
installation binary.
7 In the shell window, type sh ./install.bin. The Introduction page of the
3WXM installation wizard appears.
8 Click Next to display the Choose Installation Type page of the installation
wizard, and go to “Using the Installation Wizard”.
The installer does not make any path changes during installation. You
might want to configure path information, to make 3WXM easy to start
on your system. 3WXM must be run at the root level.
Using the Installation Wizard
To use the installation wizard on a Linux system:
1 On the Choose Installation Type page, choose one of the following:
„
To install both the 3WXM server and the client, click the 3WXM
Services icon.
„
To install only the 3WXM client, click the 3WXM client icon.
For detailed installation instructions, see “Installing 3WXM” in the
Wireless LAN Switch Manager Reference Manual.
Near the end of the installation process, the installer displays the service
ports 3WXM Services will use:
„
443—HTTPS server port
„
162—SNMP trap receiver port
You can change one or both port numbers to prevent conflicts with other
applications on the same host.
Multiple applications cannot use the same UDP or TCP port on the same
host. For example, port 443 is defined by the Internet Assigned Numbers
Authority (IANA) as the well-known HTTPS port. If the host on which you
install 3WXM Services uses its default HTTPS port (443), and the same
host also runs Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) on its default
HTTPS port (443), there will be a conflict over the port. 3WXM clients will
not be able to communicate with 3WXM Services.
If you plan to use the remote configuration option to configure new
switches, you must use port 443 for 3WXM Services. When a switch
requests its configuration from 3WXM Services, it sends the request to
port 443.
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20
CHAPTER 1: GETTING STARTED
Start 3WXM
Services
3WXM Services are automatically started when you install them on a
Windows system.
To start the 3WXM Services on a Unix or Linux System:
To start 3WXM Services manually, type a command such as the
following:
solaris# rm-services start
To stop 3WXM Services manually, type a command such as the following:
solaris# rm-services stop
These examples assume that 3WXM Services is installed in the default
location.
Connect 3WXM
Clients to 3WXM
Services
To connect the client to Services:
1 Select Start > Programs > 3Com > 3WXM > 3WXM. The 3WXM
Services Connection wizard is displayed.
2 Enter the IP address or fully-qualified hostname of the machine on which
the service is installed.
If 3WXM Services is installed on the same machine as the one you are
using to run 3WXM client, enter 127.0.0.1 as the IP address. This is a
standard IP loopback address.
3 Specify the service port, if different from the port number in the Service
Port listbox.
The port number used by the monitoring service must not be used by
another application on the machine where the monitoring service is
installed. If the port number is used by another application, change the
port number on the monitoring service. (See “Configure 3WXM Services”.)
4 Click Next to connect to the server.
5 If the Certificate Check dialog is displayed, click Accept.
If you left the Open Network Plan option on the 3WXM Services
Connection dialog selected, the server opens the last network plan.
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Connect 3WXM Clients to 3WXM Services
21
Configure 3WXM You can change the properties of 3WXM Services.
Services
If a firewall is enabled on the host where you install 3WXM Services,
3WXM Services will not be able to communicate with 3WXM client or
with WX switches unless the firewall is configured to allow through
traffic for the SSL and SNMP ports (443 and 162 by default).
To configure 3WXM Services:
1 Select Tools > 3WXM Services Setup dialog box from the 3WXM main
tool bar. The 3WXM Services Setup wizard is displayed.
By default, a username and password are not required to access 3WXM
Services from 3WXM client. You can configure user accounts for
administrative, provisioning, and monitoring access. (See “3WXM Access
2 You can optionally configure the following:
„
Select the arrow buttons to change the HTTPS Server Port, which is
the port on which 3WXM Services listens for requests from 3WXM
client.
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22
CHAPTER 1: GETTING STARTED
„
Select the arrow buttons to change the SNMP Trap Receiver Port,
which is the port on which SNMP traps are received. Also select the
trap type (SNMPv1 or SNMPv3) you want 3WXM Services to receive
from WX switches.
On each switch in the network plan, you must enable notifications and
configure 3WXM Services as a notification target (trap receiver).
3WXM Services does not start listening for SNMP notifications from
switches until you save the network plan.
„
From the Key Store area of the window, specify security settings.
„
From the Access Control area, define user accounts. For more
information about access control, see “3WXM Access Control” on
(The Auto-Config IP Subnet Matching option is used for field replacement
of WX switches. For information, see the “Configuring WX Switches
Remotely” chapter in the Wireless LAN Switch Manager Reference
Manual.)
To change these settings, use the Service Settings tab of the 3WXM
Services Setup dialog.
To select monitoring settings
All monitoring options are enabled by default. You do not need to enable
them and you do not need to specify the switches you want to monitor.
However, for 3WXM Services to receive trap data from WX switches,
SNMP notifications must be enabled and 3WXM Services must be
configured as a notification target on each of the switches.
To start gathering data for monitoring, deploy your configuration to the
network. For information about deploying your configuration, see
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3WXM Interface
23
3WXM Access Control You can create a user account with administrator, provision, or monitor
“Restricting Access to 3WXM” section in the “Getting Started” chapter
of the Wireless LAN Switch Manager Reference Manual
Table 6 User Privilege Levels
Privilege Level
Administrator
Provision
Access Control
Configuration
Monitoring
yes
no
no
yes
yes
no
yes
yes
yes
Monitor
To configure access control
1 Select Tools > 3WXM Services Setup from the 3WXM main tool bar.
The 3WXM Services Setup window is displayed.
2 In the Access Control area of the window, deselect Allow All Users.
3 Enter a username and password for administrative access, then click OK.
(You must configure an admin account before you can configure
provision or monitor accounts.)
4 Select Add Admin Account, Add Provision Account, or Add Monitor
Account. A dialog box is displayed.
5 Enter the account name and the password and click OK.
6 To remove an account, select the account and click Remove Account.
3WXM Interface
This section contains the following topics:
„
„
„
„
„
„
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24
CHAPTER 1: GETTING STARTED
Display the Main When you start 3WXM client and log onto 3WXM Services, a network
Window plan is displayed by the 3WXM client. (See Figure 2 on page 25.)
„
Organizer panel displays a network tree representing your WLAN’s
devices and configurations on those devices. You can use it to
navigate to Policy configurations, Equipment within your network,
and network Sites.
When you select a device or configuration in the tree, the
context-sensitive information about the device or configuration is
displayed to the right in the Content and Information panels.
„
Content panel displays context-sensitive information about the device
or configuration selected from the tree in the Organizer panel. From
the Content panel, you can view 3Com devices and their status, verify
3Com device configurations in the network plan and in the network,
and display event logs and Rogue detection results.
„
Alerts panel displays a summary of alerts, including network and
configuration verification, Rogue detection, and local and network
changes. Click on a summary to display details.
The Lock icon indicates whether the network plan has been locked.
When you make changes to a network plan, 3WXM locks it on the
server. The lock prevents other clients who open the network plan
from modifying it while you are making changes. The network plan
remains locked until you save your changes, after which the lock is
released.
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3WXM Interface
25
Figure 2 Main 3WXM Window with Open Network Plan
Organizer panel
Content panel
Toolbar
Lock
icon
Alerts panel
Using the Toolbar The main 3WXM window has a toolbar that provides quick access to
and Menu Bar features. You can use the Back and Forward buttons to cycle through
your display selections.
The menu bar (located above the toolbar) provides access to administrative
options such as plan management and access to online help. For example,
to open another network plan, select File > Switch Network Plan.
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26
CHAPTER 1: GETTING STARTED
Setting Preferences You can set network and user interface preferences, as well as
preferences for save interval and autosave, certificate handling,
RF monitoring, and logging.
1 Select Tools > Preferences from the 3WXM main tool bar.
The Preferences wizard is displayed.
2 Select any of the tabs, make modifications in the fields, and select Reset
All to reset preferences.
Easy Configuration Wizards help walk administrators through configuration steps. There are
Using Wizards many wizards in the 3WXM application.
Enter the required fields and click Next at the bottom of the wizard to
display the next step. Click Cancel to discard any changes made with the
wizard. When you are done, click Finish or OK to save changes.
You can right-click on many objects to display the Insert option. Select
Insert to create a new object that is a “child” of the selected object.
View Topology You can display a topology view of managed devices in your WLAN and
their relationships to each other. You can also click on the devices in the
topology view to display summary monitoring information about each
one.
To display a topology view of your network
1 Select the Monitor toolbar option.
2 In the Equipment section of the Organizer panel, select a Mobility
Domain or a WX switch.
3 If not already selected, select Explore from the drop-down list in the
Monitor tab. The topology view of the selected object is displayed.
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3WXM Interface
27
You also can select a radio, in which case the floor plan where the radio is
located is displayed, with status for all MAPs on that floor.
Getting Help Click Help from the Main menu bar to access different types of help:
1 Select Help > Help to display HTML help about configuring and using
3WXM.
2 Select Help > Licensing to view product licensing information.
3 Select Help > Report Problem to report a problem to 3Com Technical
Support.
4 Select Help > About 3WXM to display information about 3WXM and to
display the Release Notes. You also can click Force GC (garbage
collection) to free resources.
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28
CHAPTER 1: GETTING STARTED
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PLANNING AND MANAGING YOUR
WIRELESS NETWORK WITH
3WXM
2
This chapter contains information about planning and managing your
wireless network with 3WXM. Planning your wireless network is highly
recommended because it not only helps you configure and deploy it, but
also aids in scaling and monitoring your network. 3Com provides you
with flexible tools to assist with network planning.
You plan your wireless network to support the services you want to offer
will follow to establish services in your company or organization,
beginning with determining the services you want to offer. Each step in
the process is described in this chapter.
Figure 3 Process to Establish Wireless Services
Determine which
services to
provide
Configure
services
Plan for network
equipment and
coverage
Generate work
order and install
equipment
START
Optimize
services
Monitor
services
Deploy
services
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CHAPTER 2: PLANNING AND MANAGING YOUR WIRELESS NETWORK WITH 3WXM
Which Services To
Provide?
What is a service?: A service is a concept (not a selectable item in the 3WXM
interface) that represents a set of options you configure and deploy on your
wireless network. You configure services to support the different levels of
network access you need to provide. For example, a service configured to
support employee access will have different options configured to provide
greater access to the network. In contrast, a service configured for guest
access typically restricts users to limited or no internal network access, but
easily provides a gateway connection to the Internet.
A service can be fully isolated and independent of other services on the
network (multi-hosted access is typically isolated), or you can reuse part
of a service configuration for another service you want to provide. Each
service has potential authentications (802.1X, web page, MAC address,
or “last resort”) and potential encryptions (802.11i, WPA, WEP, or
unencrypted).
Purpose of this section: To provide information about services that you can
configure using 3WXM.
Why is this important?: Understanding the services you can configure with
3WXM is the first step in planning and configuring your network.
The first step you need to do when planning your wireless network is to
determine which services your organization requires. The three common
types of services are:
„
„
„
Employee access
Guest access
Voice over Wireless IP (VoWIP)
Employee access is typically secure, encrypted access to the wireless
network. Guest access is access (possibly unencrypted) for visitors at your
location. If you intend to resell services to other providers, you will need
to provide multi-hosted access.
Determining the services you will need at the beginning of the planning
process results in configuration data. The configuration data is used to
create service profiles and AAA rules for each service. A service profile is a
subset of a radio profile. A radio profile is a common set of configuration
parameters that can be applied to many MAP radios.
configuring services.
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Network Plan
31
Network Plan
What is a network plan?: A network plan is the workspace in 3WXM you
use to design a wireless network.
Why is this important?: You can better manage and visualize your network
topology by creating a detailed and accurate network plan.
You can start by creating a device-oriented (WX switches and MAPs) view
of your network without any geographic information about your site—no
floor dimensions, building material information, or RF obstacle
information. You can go a step further and provide some geographic
information by adding floor dimensions, your RF coverage area, and
some attenuation information, such as elevator shafts or internal
concrete walls. If you want to enjoy the full benefits of network
monitoring and visualization, you can create a detailed network plan. This
is done by importing detailed building and floor plans into 3WXM,
defining RF obstacles, and defining the quality of coverage (traffic
engineering parameters) you want for specific RF coverage areas.
RF Coverage Area
What is an RF coverage area?: An RF coverage area is the geographical area
in which IEEE 802.11 radios provide wireless services.
Purpose of this section: To describe the three techniques you can use for
RF coverage.
Why is this important?: By understanding available RF coverage planning
techniques, you can use the technique that meets your organization’s
requirements.
There are three techniques you can use to get your wireless network
started:
„
RF Auto-Tuning lets you use the default auto tuning feature to select
power and channel settings for RF signals in your RF coverage area.
You upload the WX switches into 3WXM, configure the MAPs, enable
RF Auto-Tuning, and deploy.
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32
CHAPTER 2: PLANNING AND MANAGING YOUR WIRELESS NETWORK WITH 3WXM
„
RF Auto-Tuning with Modelling, as with the RF Auto-Tuning
technique, lets you set the auto tuning feature to adjust power and
channel settings to provide RF signals to the coverage area for your
users. Enhance the auto tuning feature by providing modelling
information about your geographic location. By providing some
information about your buildings and floors, you add enough details
into 3WXM so that your can better visualize your network topology
and support improved monitoring at your site.
„
RF Planning is a technique you can use to create a detailed network
plan that provides powerful monitoring and visualization benefits.
Unlike RF Auto-Tuning or RF Auto-Tuning with Modelling, you do not
rely on the auto tuning feature. Instead, you fully model your
geographic location with detailed information about your floors, and
specify your RF coverage areas and your RF obstacles.
Each of these methods is described in the sections that follow.
RF Auto-Tuning To use the RF Auto-Tuning technique:
Physically place WX switches and the MAPs in their desired locations.
„
„
Upload a WX switch configuration and deploy it.
Enable the RF Auto-Tuning feature.
„
This is a great way to install a WX switch and some MAPs, and
observe how the network operates. The RF Auto-Tuning plan is best
suited to networks containing fewer MAPs.
RF Auto-Tuning with To use the RF Auto-Tuning with Modelling technique, you add to the RF
Modelling Auto-Tuning technique by providing some geographical modelling about
your building, floors, and RF coverage area. You also add RF obstacle
information for major obstacles (like concrete walls, windows, and
elevator shafts) that affect attenuation—the quality of RF signals emitted
from and received by the MAPs. By adding geographical modelling, you
will be able to manage your network in the context of that geographical
information. For example, you will be able to manage your network
overlaid on a floor plan, versus managing an abstract logical group of
switches and MAPs.
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RF Coverage Area
33
RF Planning To do RF Planning, you provide detailed information about your site and
buildings by importing AutoCAD DXF™, AutoCAD DWG, JPEG, or GIF
floor plan files of the buildings into 3WXM. As you import the floor plans,
you can modify them to add or remove RF obstacles. You define RF
obstacles by specifying the attenuation factor in decibels for the obstacle.
In addition, 3WXM includes a library of attenuators for building
obstacles. The library includes doors, walls, ceilings, and other physical
obstructions that you can select. 3WXM factors in the impact these
objects have on how the radio frequency (RF) signals flow through a
given site.
If the network contains third-party or pre-installed APs, you can enter
information for these APs so that 3WXM takes the APs into account
when calculating the placement (and optionally, the channel and power
settings) of the 3Com MAPs.
By using this technique, you receive these substantial benefits:
„
Instead of you making a “best guess” as to how many MAPs you
require for the desired coverage and where MAPs should be placed,
3WXM automatically calculates how many MAPs you need and where
to place MAPs for optimal positioning.
„
„
„
You can generate a deployable work order to help installers place WX
switches and MAPs.
You automatically receive a deployable configuration that includes
optimum power and channel settings.
You enjoy more accurate monitoring options and network
visualization based on the additional geographic modelling
information loaded into 3WXM.
Which Planning The more detailed your network plan, the better you will be able to
Method Should I Use? manage and monitor the network. However, there are other
requirements organizations should consider.
3Com recommends using the RF Auto-Tuning technique if you are
installing MAPs without consideration to blanket coverage, throughput
concerns, or the number of users for whom service will be provided. RF
Auto-Tuning is ideal for small areas; for example, coverage that only
requires a few MAPs, or widely dispersed areas in a building, such as
conference rooms.
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34
CHAPTER 2: PLANNING AND MANAGING YOUR WIRELESS NETWORK WITH 3WXM
Use the RF Auto-Tuning with Modelling technique if you want to better
monitor your wireless network in terms of buildings, floors, or coverage
areas. You may only be able to locate inaccurate or incomplete building
and floor plans (perhaps only a JPEG file), but with even a bit more
geographic modelling of your site, you boost your ability to manage and
visualize your network.
Use RF Planning when you want to use all the tools provided in 3WXM to
deploy, manage, and monitor your network. You likely have multiple
constituencies of users you need to consider; for example, sets of users
that are mobile and wireless that have specific throughput and
bandwidth needs. One group of users may be mobile and require high
throughput performance (a higher bandwidth), while another group of
users are more stationary and require less throughput. Additionally, you
may be planning for future capacity, and need to add as much detailed
information as you can about your site in order to plan for the future.
See Table 7 for some guidelines to help you determine what planning
technique is right for your organization.
Table 7 Planning Techniques to Use
Concern
If yes, use
If No, use
Do I have adequate time to add RF Auto-Tuning with
RF Auto-Tuning
geographic modelling and RF
obstacle information?
Modelling
Can I locate accurate building
and floor plans?
RF Planning or
RF Auto-Tuning with
Modelling
RF Auto-Tuning with
Modelling
Do I need to plan for capacity of RF Planning
users or quality of coverage
(traffic engineering concerns) for
certain users?
RF Auto-Tuning or RF
Auto-Tuning with
Modelling
Do I need to visualize coverage
accurately?
RF Planning
RF Auto-Tuning or RF
Auto-Tuning with
Modelling
Do I need to locate users?
RF Planning or RF
Auto-Tuning with
Modelling
RF Auto-Tuning
Do I need to locate rogue APs?
RF Planning or RF
Auto-Tuning with
Modelling
RF Auto-Tuning
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Configuration
35
Table 7 Planning Techniques to Use
Concern
If yes, use
If No, use
RF Auto-Tuning
Do I want to better monitor my RF Planning or RF
wireless network in terms of
buildings, floors, or coverage
areas?
Auto-Tuning with
Modelling
If RF Planning does not fit your requirements now, you can always use the
RF Planning technique in the future when you have the need, the time,
and the necessary floor plans available. You also can leverage the data in
RF Auto-Tuning and convert these RF measurements to configured
baseline values for planning.
Configuration
Purpose of this section: To describe the main areas of the 3Com Network
(WX switch and MAPs) you will configure in 3WXM.
Why is this important?: To provide you with overview information about
the software so that you can plan a configuration to support the services
you require.
You will configure the wireless configuration and AAA security
configuration for each service you provide on your wireless network. You
also create a basic configuration for the WX switch.
Figure 4 Configuration Required for Each Service
Wireless Service
Wireless Configuration
- Radio Profile
- Service Profile
AAA Security Configuration
- AAA methods
- Rules
- Encryption Choices
- Authentication choices
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CHAPTER 2: PLANNING AND MANAGING YOUR WIRELESS NETWORK WITH 3WXM
This section contains information about:
„
„
„
Wireless Wireless configuration focuses on the configuration tasks (radio
Configuration configuration and AAA configuration) you do to deliver the virtual
wireless services you want to provide on your network. You enable the
MAPs to operate according to your planned RF coverage requirements.
Most of the wireless configuration is done as you plan your RF coverage
and create your radio profiles and service profiles.
A radio profile is used to apply common settings to multiple radios, and
each radio profile can support up to 32 service profiles, one for each
service you want to support. You specify in the service profile an SSID for
each service and the type of encryption mechanisms to be used by the
MAP radios. This gives the radio the potential to look like 32 different and
Figure 5 Radio and Service Profiles
Radio 1
MAP1
Radio Profile “default” applied to MAP1, Radio 1
and Radio 2 and MAP2, Radio 1
Radio 2
Radio 1
Service Profiles 1-32
SSID
MAP2
Radio Profile “EBC” applied to MAP2, Radio 2
Service Profile, 1-32
Radio 2
SSID
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Configuration
37
You must configure a radio profile to set attributes that you can apply to
multiple radios. Rather than configuring each radio individually, you
create a radio profile and apply it to multiple radios that you select. You
can also create a radio profile as part of a policy and apply it to MAP
access points on different WX switches.
The radio profile can contain RF Auto-Tuning settings and IEEE 802.11
settings that control how the data is received and transmitted. You can
select RF Auto-Tuning in the radio profile to apply AutoRF settings
(enable or disable auto tuning of power and channels) to radios en masse
via the radio profile. AutoRF enabled through the radio profile to multiple
radios can be easily disabled, too, should you want to go to full RF
planning. You can set specific IEEE 802.11 settings, such as beacon, DTIM
intervals, and the fragment threshold to control how packets are
transmitted.
A default radio profile named default is provided and cannot be deleted.
For each service you want to provide, you configure the following items
in a service profile:
„
„
„
„
„
The SSID name
SSID advertisement (whether the SSID name is beaconed)
Whether the SSID name is encrypted or clear (not encrypted)
Web page (if using WebAAA)
Multiple encryption choices (Dynamic/static WEP, WPA, WEP + WPA,
802.11i)
You also must configure AAA security configuration items for each
service. For more information, see “AAA Security Configuration” on
The encryption type you use depends on the type of services you’re
offering. Employee access is typically encrypted, guest access is typically
clear (no encryption), and multi-host or “multiple virtualized services”
service can be encrypted, with each SSID being matched with its own
service profile.
If services are being used for customer corporate entities (e.g. different
airlines on an airport wireless net), then they would probably use 802.1X
and strong encryption with web guest access for their airport club guests.
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38
CHAPTER 2: PLANNING AND MANAGING YOUR WIRELESS NETWORK WITH 3WXM
If the services are being used to advertise multiple wireless service
®
TM
TM
providers (WISP), such as T-Mobile , Wayport , and Boingo Wireless ,
then these services would probably be completely open. However, they
would likely be assigned to their own dedicated subnet containing their
proxy server/billing gateway.
AAA Security An administrator can control the way in which users access the network.
Configuration For each service you provide, you can configure unique authentication,
authorization, and accounting (AAA) security features, creating an
entirely virtualized wireless service. For each service, you configure:
„
Multiple authentication choices (802.1X, Web, AAA, MAC
authentication, Bonded Auth, open)
„
AAA methods (up to four RADIUS server groups, or a local database
on the WX switch)
Authentication
Authentication is the method of determining whether a user is allowed
access to your network. Users can be authenticated by a RADIUS server
(pass-through) or by the WX switch local database (local). The WX switch
can also assist the RADIUS server by performing the Extensible
Authentication Protocol (EAP) processing for the server (offload).
To authenticate users, you will need to configure users either in the local
database or on RADIUS servers. Each user will have a username,
password, and RADIUS and/or vendor-specific attributes (VSAs). You will
also need to configure authentication rules (802.1X, MAC, last-resort, or
web authentication).
See Figure 6 on page 39 to see a flowchart representing the
authentication process. Generally, 802.1X authentication is attempted
first. If the user fails, then MAC authentication is attempted. If this fails,
then last resort and web authentication is used. For a service profile, you
specify either web authentication, last-resort, or none in the
auth-fall-thru box. You can only select one.
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Configuration
39
Figure 6 Authentication Flowchart for Network Users
Client associates with 3Com radio
or requests access from wired authentication port
Client
responds
to 802.1X?
Client requests
802.1X rule that
Authent.
succeeds?
Allow
Client
encrypted SSID?
matches SSID?
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
No
Refuse
Client
Authent.
succeeds?
MAC rule that
matches SSID?
Allow
Client
Yes
No
No
Use fallthru authentication
Authent.
succeeds?
Allow
Client
Last-resort rule that
matches SSID?
last-resort?
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
Refuse
Client
Refuse
Client
Authent.
succeeds?
Allow
Client
Web Auth rule that
matches SSID?
web?
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
Refuse
Client
Refuse
Client
Refuse
Client
none?
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40
CHAPTER 2: PLANNING AND MANAGING YOUR WIRELESS NETWORK WITH 3WXM
Authorization
Authorization is the method for providing users with specific rights to the
network by associating attribute-value (AV) pairs to the user. AAA
authorization works by assembling a set of attributes that describe what
the user is authorized to perform. These attributes are compared to the
information contained in a local database or on a RADIUS server for a
given user and the result is returned to the WX switch to determine the
user’s actual capabilities and restrictions.
You can configure attributes, such as the time of day or specific VLAN
access. You can also control access using security access control lists
(ACLs), Mobility ProfilesTM, and Location Policies. Security ACLs permit or
deny traffic based on IP protocol, IP addresses and, optionally, TCP or
UDP port. They also can be used to set class-of-service (CoS) values in a
packet. Mobility Profiles contain attributes to allow or deny access to
specific parts of the network for a specific user or group of users.
Location Policies are an ordered list of location policy rules based on a
user glob, VLAN, and/or ports. A Location Policy can be configured if you
need to override the configured AAA user authorization attributes locally
for a specific WX.
Accounting
Accounting collects and sends information used for billing, auditing, and
reporting—for example, user identities, connection start and stop times,
the number of packets received and sent, and the number of bytes
transferred. You can track sessions through accounting information
stored locally or on a remote RADIUS server. As network users roam
throughout the network, accounting records track them and their
network usage.
System and A Mobility Domain is a collection of WX switches that work together to
Administration support roaming users. One of the WX switches is defined as a seed
Configuration device, which distributes information to the other WX switches defined in
the Mobility Domain.
A Mobility Domain allows users to roam geographically from one WX
switch to another without losing network connectivity. Users connect as
a member of a VLAN through their authorized identities.
You can add switches to a network plan as members of a Mobility
Domain or as standalone switches. After a switch is added, you can move
it into or out of a Mobility Domain.
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Configuration
41
You can create the following types of WX switches:
„
WX4400—Provides four dual-interface gigabit Ethernet ports. Each
port has a 1000BASE-TX copper interface and a Gigabit interface
converter (GBIC) slot for insertion of a 1000BASE-SX or 1000BASE-LX
fiber-optic interface.
„
„
„
WX1200—Provides eight 10/100 Ethernet ports, six of which support PoE.
WXR100—Provides two 10/100 Ethernet ports, one of which supports PoE.
WX2200—Provides twenty 10/100BASE-TX Ethernet ports, all of
which support Power over Ethernet (PoE). WX2200 switches also
provide two slots for 1000BASE-SX or 1000BASE-LX fiber-optic
gigabit Ethernet ports.
You perform the following tasks to create and initially configure a WX
switch:
„
„
„
Configure basic WX switch properties.
Configure WX switch connection information.
Configure boot information.
Configure Basic WX Switch Properties
To configure basic WX switch properties, you specify a name, select a
model, select its location by wiring closet, and select the Mobility System
Software (MSS) you want to run on the switch. Optionally, you can select
an MSS image to download when you deploy changes to the WX.
You also can specify if the switch is managed. A WX switch that is
physically installed as well as configured can be managed. You can
deploy configuration changes only to managed devices, and 3WXM
periodically checks the managed WX switches in the network for
changes. You also can fully configure a switch without it being physically
installed (unmanaged). Having an unmanaged device in your network
plan may be useful for predeployment purposes.
Basic configuration also includes specifying how you will manage the
switch. You can manage it through HTTPS, Telnet, and Secure Shell (SSH).
You also can enable monitoring using the Simple Network Management
Protocol (SNMP) to exchange information about network activity
between your network devices.
For more information about configuring basic WX switch properties, see
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CHAPTER 2: PLANNING AND MANAGING YOUR WIRELESS NETWORK WITH 3WXM
For detailed information about configuring basic WX switch properties,
see the Wireless LAN Switch and Controller Quick Start Guide.
Configure WX Switch Connection Information
You need to supply connection information for the WX switch on both
the WX switch and in 3WXM when you make the WX a managed device.
Connection information includes the IP address of the switch and how it
will connect to the backbone; for example, by means of a VLAN or a port.
Configure Boot Information
You select the software image that the WX will use when reset, or
optionally, the configuration file the WX will use when reset.
Equipment
Installation
To physically install a WX switch:
1 Unpack and rack the WX switch in the wiring closet or data center location.
2 Plug the WX switch electrical cord into a power outlet.
3 Connect a network access cable from your existing network to one of the
Ethernet ports on the switch (10/100 or Gigabit Ethernet, depending on
the WX model and available interfaces on the network).
Remember the port number you used. You will need to know this when
performing the initial setup of the switch.
4 Connect a serial interface to the console port of the WX switch to access
the console’s CLI for initial setup.
To physically install MAPs:
1 Instruct the cabling installer to run the Cat. 5 Ethernet cable from the
closest wiring closet to intended location of the MAP.
2 Unpack the MAP, and select the appropriate mounting kit for your
installation location.
3 Install the MAP at the indicated location on the floor.
4 Connect the Cat 5. Ethernet cable(s) to the MAP.
5 At the wiring closet, connect the MAP to the infrastructure equipment:
a If you are directly connecting the MAP to a WX switch, plug the other
cable end(s) to the indicated port(s).
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Deployment
43
b If you are indirectly connecting the WX to the switch, plug the other
cable end(s) to an available network port on the wiring closet switch.
If the switch does not supply PoE, then ensure that a mid-span PoE
device is inserted in-line with the connection.
Deployment
What is deployment?: Sending the WX configuration information in the
3WXM network plan to your WX switch.
Purpose of this section: To describe how changes are made to 3WXM and
deployed to your network.
Why is this important?: To understand best practices for sending and
deploying configurations to your WX.
Configuration changes are collected in 3WXM when you save them, but
are not applied to WX switches until you send the changes to your
network. Any changes you make to your network in 3WXM are saved,
but not applied to your network until they are deployed. This method
makes it easy to apply configurations simultaneously to multiple WX
switches, or you can deploy changes to a single WX switch.
Management and
Monitoring
Purpose of this section: To provide an overview of the management and
monitoring capabilities offered in 3WXM.
Why is this important?: Understanding the management and monitoring tools
available in 3WXM can help you to quickly identify and correct problems in
your wireless network, as well as to provide you with the statistics and
reporting information you need to optimize your network.
This section talks about the following management and monitoring
features:
„
„
„
„
„
„
„
Network Status
RF monitoring
Client monitoring
Rogue detection
Event logging
Verification
Reporting
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44
CHAPTER 2: PLANNING AND MANAGING YOUR WIRELESS NETWORK WITH 3WXM
Network Status 3WXM provides summary status on devices in the network at the
Mobility Domain, switch or MAP level. View the summary status as the
initial step in monitoring. Summary status displays the operational status
of WX switches, MAPs, and their radios (whether they are up or down).
In addition, 3WXM collects network statistics for devices, including
system-level events and statistics for the wired network.
The Alerts section in the bottom, left panel in 3WXM displays top-level
status information. The Alerts panel provides you with summary error and
warning information for the following areas:
„
„
„
„
Configuration—indicates network plan configuration issues
Network—indicates managed network issues
Rogue detection—identifies the number of rogue APs detected
Local changes—indicates changes in 3WXM that can be deployed to
the network
„
Network changes—indicates configuration changes in the network
You can display a topology view of your network, including the state and
relationship of devices. You can right-mouse click on a device in the
topology to display the status of that device. The display can include the
wired network, third-party APs, and rogue access points (access points
that are not authorized to operate in your network).
You also can set thresholds for events. If the threshold is crossed, the
affected device is flagged, and a star is placed beside the parameter that
triggered the threshold.
RF Monitoring RF monitoring provides you with current and historical information about
your radio health and activity. Data collected for the RF environment and
the RF neighborhood includes the following items:
„
RF environment
„
„
„
„
„
„
Channel
Noise
CRC errors
PHY errors
Packet retransmissions
Percent utilization
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Management and Monitoring
45
„
RF neighborhood
„
„
„
„
„
„
Transmitters (heard by this radio)
Listeners (who heard this radio)
Neighbors
BSSID to SSID mapping
Channel
RSSI
Statistics collected for the RF environment provides data on a per-channel
basis. You can view noise levels, cyclic redundancy check (CRC) and PHY
errors, packet retransmissions and percent utilization.
Data collected for the RF neighborhood displays the neighboring radios.
This information can be viewed as a list of radios heard by a particular
radio, as well as a list of radios who can hear a particular radio.
You also can display trending information on a per-radio basis. Trending
collects radio statistics and charts them on a time basis. For example, you could
display average throughput rates for the previous 30 days, week, or day. You
can display and print the charts from 3WXM, as well as generate a report.
Client Monitoring Client monitoring provides current and historical information about the
clients using your network, including client activity, watch list clients,
current client sessions, and the ability to locate clients at your site. 3WXM
displays the data that WX switches collect on user sessions—either for a
single user, users associated with a MAP, users associated with a specific
radio, or users added to a watch list.
By viewing monitoring information for a user or a group of users, you can
troubleshoot problems originating from bandwidth constraints or
roaming patterns. You can collect statistics and view reports on:
„
„
„
„
Client associations, authentication, and authorization failures
Client activity, such as roaming and successful authorization
Current session status, location history, and statistics
Specifics on users over a period of time; information can be gathered
up to 30 days for session status, location history, client errors, and
client activity on users you place on the watch list
If you use 3WXM RF Planning, you also can display the approximate
geographic locations of clients.
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CHAPTER 2: PLANNING AND MANAGING YOUR WIRELESS NETWORK WITH 3WXM
Rogue Detection A rogue AP is an access point that is not authorized to operate in or near
your network. You can use RF countermeasures to deny service to or
from a targeted rogue AP, and render them ineffective. Once a rogue AP
is detected and reported, the closest 3Com MAP is assigned to perform
RF countermeasures. By spoofing various 802.11 control messages, the
MAP’s countermeasures disrupt association and authentication attempts
to the rogue AP by any new clients. This also disrupts any active
communications between any existing client and rogue AP.
You can collect statistics and view reports on:
„
„
„
„
„
Current rogue list, aggregated for the whole network
Current hour rogue list
Current day rogue list
30 days of rogue history, using best listener data
Rogue lifecycle events (when the rogue was first seen, by whom, and
when it went away)
„
Counter-measure activity
The number of currently detected rogues is conveniently displayed in the
Alerts panel.
If you use 3WXM RF Planning, you also can display the approximate
geographic locations of rogue devices and their clients.
Event Logging 3WXM incorporates a powerful and flexible display interface for all
events collected by the system. Events are stored on a per-WX basis and
are collected continuously. Customizable filters can be created to easily
drill down to specific information the event log database. You can filter
events based on:
„
„
„
„
„
„
Category
Severity
Date and time ranges
WX switch
3WXM client and services log
Specific text string matches
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Management and Monitoring
47
Verification Both configuration verification and network verification rules are checked
for any inconsistencies or problems. Verification rules include “instant
fix” resolutions. Instant fix resolutions are errors that can be automatically
fixed, or alternatively providing a hot link to the object containing the
error.
You can selectively disable any rule. Disabling a rule is useful if you wish
to ignore a warning and do not want to see it displayed anymore. The
number of configuration and network errors or warnings are
conveniently displayed in the Alerts panel.
Reporting 3WXM uses a database to collect and store client, RF, and other system
dynamic data, such as statistics, status, events, and traps. You can
generate reports from the monitoring and configuration data collected in
the database. A report can have a selectable scope and a selectable time
and description of the reports you can generate in 3WXM.
Table 8 3WXM Reports
Report
Description
Configuration Reports
Inventory Report
Provides information about the WX switches
and MAPs in your network.
Mobility domain configuration
Provides a configuration overview, providing
data that spans multiple WX switches. For
example, it contains information about the
AAA/RADIUS setup, SSIDs, and where they
are configured.
Wireless Switch (WX) Configuration Provides details on a WX configuration.
Site Survey Order
Provides a map of your site that can be used
to guide a site survey.
Work Order
Provides information installers use to
physically install WX switches and MAPs.
Monitoring Reports
Client Session Summary
Displays summary data for sessions in the
selected scope.
Client Session Details
Displays detailed session information.
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48
CHAPTER 2: PLANNING AND MANAGING YOUR WIRELESS NETWORK WITH 3WXM
Table 8 3WXM Reports (continued)
Report
Description
Client Errors
Provides data on client-related health in the
network over time; for example, if there is a
large number of association failures in some
area of the network.
Watch List Clients
Network Usage
RF Summary
Contains detailed information for the clients
on the Watch List.
Provides information about network resource
usage and client activity.
Provides information about overall network
health using selected radio statistics. It can be
used to compare RF environments across the
network and isolate potential problem areas.
Radio Details
Provides a detailed set of statistical
information for each radio in the selected
MAP.
Rogue Details
Provides current and historical information
for a selected rogue.
Rogue Summary
Provides information for all visible rogues for
a selected time.
RF Plan
Optimization
What is optimization?: Importing RF measurement data into an RF model
to improve the accuracy of the model.
Purpose of this section: Provides an overview of optimization methods.
Why is this important?: A network plan contains the configuration settings
that determine the performance of your wireless network. Optimization
of the RF model leads to a more successful RF plan. The ultimate result is
an accurate visualization of your RF coverage, better-defined statistics for
monitoring, and the ability to more accurately plan for and improve
network performance.
You can optimize your network based on user and network statistics
gathered from:
„
The monitoring data in 3WXM
A site survey
„
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RF Plan Optimization
49
Based on RF measurement data you gather in 3WXM to optimize the RF
model of a floor, you can make configuration changes in the software to
improve signal strength and coverage for groups or individuals, modify
MAP locations, or add additional equipment to your wireless network if
statistics indicate your network has outgrown the support provided by its
current deployment of WX switches and MAPs.
You also can import RF measurement data based on a site survey done
outside of 3WXM. See the “Using RF Measurements from MAPs” on
page 180 for general guidelines about performing a site survey.
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50
CHAPTER 2: PLANNING AND MANAGING YOUR WIRELESS NETWORK WITH 3WXM
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CONFIGURING WIRELESS SERVICES
3
What are Services?
A service is a concept (not a selectable item in the 3WXM interface) that
represents a set of options you configure and deploy on your wireless
network. Services are configured to provide various levels of wireless
network access to users, such as secure employee access, guest access,
multi-hosted access, or Voice over Wireless IP (VoWIP) access.
You can configure a service to be independent of other services on your
wireless network, or you may be able to share configuration components
among services. For example, multi-hosted access is typically fully isolated
from other services (no shared configuration), while services that provide
for guest and employee access in a single corporation may share a
common radio profile. In this way, you can reuse part of the service
configuration for other services you want to provide. You could configure
a service for employee access; then reuse part of the configuration to
provide services for guest access.
Each service has potential authentication types (802.1X, web page, MAC
address, or open access) and potential encryption types (802.11i, WPA,
WEP, or unencrypted). (Open Access is sometimes called last resort.)
This chapter contains examples to help you configure the following types
of service sets:
„
„
„
Employee access (802.1X)
Guest access (Web Portal)
Voice over IP (MAC AAA)
The configuration examples in this chapter take place on a WX switch
already in the network plan. However, you also can preconfigure services
in a policy and apply the policy to WX switches later.
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CHAPTER 3: CONFIGURING WIRELESS SERVICES
Configure
Employee Access
Services
Services for Employee access are typically configured to provide secure,
encrypted access to the wireless network.
The following sections provide information about how to configure
Employee access:
„
„
„
Table 9 on page 52 contains the tasks you need to perform to configure
Employee access services. The summary provides the configurable options
you should set. The section “Example: Configure Employee Access” on
page 55 guides you through the primary wizards and pages in 3WXM to
configure Employee access services.
Task Table Table 9 contains the tasks you need to perform to create a service for
employee access. For a summary of configurable items, see “Step
Summary” on page 54. For detailed steps about how to perform each of
Table 9 Creating a Service for Employee Access
Primary Parameters to
Configure
Task
Path
1 Tool bar option: select
From the Create Radio Profile
wizard:
Configuration.
2 Organizer panel: expand
„
Radio profile name: enter a
name
the WX switch.
3 Expand Wireless.
After you create the service profile,
you can map it to the radio profile.
4 Click on Radio Profiles.
After you install the MAPs, you can
map their radios to the radio
profile.
5 Select Radio Profile in the
task list.
Note: The examples in this chapter
configure the radio profile first.
However, you also can configure
the radio profile later as part of
service profile configuration.
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53
Table 9 Creating a Service for Employee Access (continued)
Primary Parameters to
Configure
Task
Path
“Configure
1 Tool bar option: select
From the Create RADIUS Server
wizard:
Configuration.
Servers” on
2 Organizer panel: expand
„
Name: enter server name
the WX switch.
„
IP Address: enter server IP
address
3 Expand AAA.
4 Click RADIUS.
„
„
Key: enter key
5 Select RADIUS Server in the
Server group: allow the wizard
to create it
Task List.
On the RADIUS servers themselves,
configure the AAA backed (not in
3WXM):
„
Set up each WX switch as a
RADIUS client.
„
Define the 3Com vendor-specific
attributes (VSAs) in the RADIUS
server’s dictionary.
„
„
Configure each user record with
authorization rules (username
and password).
Configure each user with either
the Vlan-Name attribute (3Com
VSA) or the RADIUS
Tunnel-Private-Group-ID to
assign users to VLANs.
„
Configure authentication rules
(802.1X, MAC, Open Access, or
Web Portal).
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CHAPTER 3: CONFIGURING WIRELESS SERVICES
Table 9 Creating a Service for Employee Access (continued)
Primary Parameters to
Configure
Task
Path
“Create a
1 Tool bar option: select
From the Create Service Profile
wizard:
Access” on
Configuration.
2 Organizer panel: expand
„
„
„
Service profile name: edit name
SSID name: enter name
the WX switch.
3 Expand Wireless.
Security mode: select WPA (and
deselect Dynamic WEP)
4 Click Wireless Services.
5 Select 802.1X Service
„
„
Encryption type: use TKIP
(already selected)
Profile in the Task List.
EAP Type: use External RADIUS
Server (already selected)
„
„
„
RADIUS server group: select one
SSID default VLAN: enter name
Radio profile: select one
“Set Up
1 Tool bar option: select
From the Create VLAN wizard:
Switches” on
Configuration.
„
„
„
„
VLAN Name: enter name
VLAN ID: select number
IP Address: enter IP Address
2 Organizer panel: expand
the WX switch.
3 Expand System.
4 Click VLANs.
Ports: select them and either
move them (use them only in
the new VLAN) or add them
(share them with other VLANs)
5 Select VLAN in the Task
List.
„
If you add them, select Tag
Step Summary The following list summarizes the fields selected or configuration items
entered in the example that follows to configure Employee access:
1 Create a radio profile.
„
From the Radio Profile wizard, enter RadioProfile1 as the name of the
radio profile.
„
Click Finish.
2 Configure the RADIUS back end:
„
Configure the RADIUS server for 802.1X. Use the recommended EAP
method, PEAP + MS-CHAPv2.
„
„
Set up each WX switch as a RADIUS client.
Define any desired 3Com vendor-specific attributes (VSAs).
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55
„
„
Configure each user record with either the VLAN-Name attribute or
the RADIUS Tunnel-Private-Group-ID.
Configure 802.1X authentication rules.
3 Configure the RADIUS server in 3WXM:
„
From the Create RADIUS wizard, enter sg1 as the Name of the server,
the server’s IP address, and the Key. Allow the wizard to create the
server group and place the server in it for you. Click Finish.
4 Create a service profile for 802.1X service.
„
From the 802.1x Service Profile wizard, click Next and enter
Secure-802.1X-Employees as the Name of the service profile and
Employees as the SSID.
„
„
„
Click Next. Select WPA and deselect Dynamic WEP.
Click Next. Leave TKIP enabled.
Click Next. Leave External RADIUS Server enabled. Select the RADIUS
server group and click Add.
„
„
„
Click Next. Enter vlan-mkt as the default VLAN to use if the VLAN is
not assigned by RADIUS authorization.
Click Next. Select RadioProfile1 and click Add. Select default and click
Remove.
Click Finish.
5 Set up a VLAN on the WX switches.
„
From the Create VLAN wizard, enter vlan-mkt as the VLAN name.
„
Click Next. Select the VLAN ports. Click Add to share them with
other VLANs or Move to use them exclusively in this VLAN. If you click
Add, then select Tag.
„
Click Finish.
Example: Configure The following detailed steps provide an example of how to configure
Employee Access Employee services. You will:
„
„
„
„
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CHAPTER 3: CONFIGURING WIRELESS SERVICES
In general, these same steps are required to configure other services, too.
You can refer back to this section, using the summary list or the task
table, with configuration options for “Configure Guest Access Services”
Create a Radio Profile
You configure a radio profile to set attributes that you can apply to
multiple radios. Rather than configuring each radio individually, the radio
profile is applied to multiple radios that you select. Service profiles are
mapped to radio profiles.
The radio profile can contain RF Auto-Tuning settings and IEEE 802.11
settings that control how the data is received and transmitted.
MAPs (and consequently, radios) need to be added to 3WXM after
creating a radio profile. For more information about adding radios, refer
to one of the following:
„
„
„
To create a radio profile
1 Select Configuration on the toolbar.
2 In the Organizer panel, expand the WX switch.
3 Expand Wireless, then select Radio Profiles.
4 In the Task List panel, select Radio Profile.
The Create Radio Profile wizard is displayed.
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Configure Employee Access Services
57
5 Enter the name of the radio profile, then click Next at the bottom of the
wizard.
6 If MAPs are already configured, select the radios to map to the radio
profile, then click Move.
3WXM removes the radios from the radio profile they are in and places
them in the new profile.
If you have not configured the MAPs in 3WXM yet, no radios are listed.
You can map the radios to the radio profile later.
7 Click Finish to save the changes and close the wizard.
The new radio profile appears in the Content panel.
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CHAPTER 3: CONFIGURING WIRELESS SERVICES
Configure RADIUS Servers
Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service (RADIUS) is a client-server
security protocol that provides authentication, authorization, and
accounting for network users and devices. A RADIUS server stores user
profiles, which include usernames, passwords, and other user attributes.
To configure RADIUS servers, you must:
„
Configure RADIUS server attributes in 3WXM
Configure attributes on the RADIUS server
„
Configure RADIUS Server in 3WXM To configure RADIUS in 3WXM,
you define RADIUS server groups (named sets of RADIUS servers). You
must create at least one server group. RADIUS server groups can
authenticate administrators and network users.
To configure the RADIUS server in 3WXM
1 Select Configuration on the toolbar.
2 In the Organizer panel, expand the WX switch on which you are
configuring the service.
3 Expand AAA, then select RADIUS.
4 In the Task List panel, select RADIUS Server.
The Create RADIUS Server wizard is displayed.
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Configure Employee Access Services
59
5 Type the name, IP address, and key, then click Next.
3WXM suggests the name of a server group to place the server in. The
server group is required because AAA rules refer to server groups, not to
individual servers.
6 Click Finish to save the server and create the server group.
The new server and group appear in the Content panel.
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CHAPTER 3: CONFIGURING WIRELESS SERVICES
Configure Attributes on the RADIUS Server To authenticate users,
you will need to configure users either in the local database or on RADIUS
servers. To configure services for Employee access, the following items
should be configured on the RADIUS server.
To configure the RADIUS server
1 Configure RADIUS server to perform 802.1X using the recommended
EAP method PEAP + MSCHAPV2.
2 Setup each WX switch as a RADIUS client.
3 Define any desired 3Com vendor-specific attributes (VSAs) in the RADIUS
server’s dictionary.
The vendor-specific attributes (VSAs) created by 3Com are embedded
according to the procedure recommended in RFC 2865, with Vendor-ID
set to 14525. Table 10 describes the 3Com VSAs, listed in order by
vendor type number.
Table 10 3Com VSAs
Rcv in Sent in Sent in
Access Access Acct
Resp? Reqst? Reqst? Description
Attribute
Type
VLAN-Name 26, 43, 2
Yes
Yes
No
No
Yes
No
Name of the VLAN to
which the client belongs.
Mobility-
Profile
26, 43, 3
26, 43, 4
Name of the Mobility
Profile used by the
authorized client.
Encryption-
Type
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
No
Type of encryption used
to authenticate the client.
Time-Of-Day 26, 43, 5
Day(s) and time(s) during
which a user can log into
the network.
SSID
26, 43, 6
Yes
No
Yes
Name of the SSID you
want the user to use. The
SSID must be configured
in a service profile, and
the service profile must be
used by a radio profile
assigned to 3Com radios
in the Mobility Domain.
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Configure Employee Access Services
61
Table 10 3Com VSAs (continued)
Rcv in Sent in Sent in
Access Access Acct
Resp? Reqst? Reqst? Description
Attribute
Type
End-Date
26, 43, 7
Yes
No
No
Date and time after which
the user is no longer
allowed to be on the
network. Use the
following format:
YY/MM/DD-HH:MM
Start-Date
URL
26, 43, 7
26, 43, 8
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
No
Date and time at which
the user becomes eligible
to access the network.
Use the following format:
YY/MM/DD-HH:MM
URL to which the user is
redirected after successful
WebAAA. Use the
following format:
http://www.example.com
4 Configure each user record with authorization rules (username and
password) and with either the Vlan-Name attribute (3Com VSA) or the
RADIUS Tunnel-Private-Group-ID to assign users to VLANs.
Other attributes are optional.
Create a Service Profile for 802.1X Access
A service profile contains the configuration for the service you want to
offer, such as employee access, guest access, or VoWIP.
For more information about service profiles, see “Wireless
Configuration” on page 36. For more information about service sets, see
To create an 802.1X service profile
1 Select Configuration on the toolbar.
2 In the Organizer panel, expand the WX switch.
3 Expand Wireless, then select Wireless Services.
4 In the Task List panel, select 802.1X Service Profile.
The 802.1X Service Profile wizard is displayed.
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CHAPTER 3: CONFIGURING WIRELESS SERVICES
5 Click Next.
6 Change the service profile name to Secure-802.1X-Employees, and use
Employees as the SSID, as shown in the figure on the next page.
7 Click Next. Select WPA and deselect Dynamic WEP.
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Configure Employee Access Services
63
8 Click Next. TKIP is already selected.
9 Click Next. Leave External RADIUS Server selected as the EAP Type.
10 Select the RADIUS server group in the Available RADIUS Server Groups list
and click Add.
11 Click Next. Type vlan-mkt in the VLAN Name box.
12 Click Next. Select RadioProfile1 in the Available Radio Profiles list and
click Add. Select default in the Current Radio Profiles list and click
Remove.
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CHAPTER 3: CONFIGURING WIRELESS SERVICES
13 Click Finish.
The new service profile appears in the Content panel.
View the Service Profile’s Access Rules
Every service profile requires access rules. The access rules specify the
usernames or MAC addresses that are allowed to access the SSID. The
service profile wizards automatically create access rules that match on all
usernames (or that match on all MAC addresses, for VoWIP services).
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65
To view an 802.1X service profile’s access rules
1 Select the service profile in the Wireless Service Profiles table (located in
the Content panel).
A Setup group appears in the Task List panel.
2 In the Task List panel, select 802.1X Access.
The Configure 802.1X Access wizard appears. The wizard displays the
encryption settings, access rules, and AAA settings for the service profile
and allows you to change them. You also can configure new access rules
using the wizard.
3 Click Next to page through the wizard until the 802.1X Access Rules
page appears.
This page lists the access rules configured for the service profile. The
userglob and SSID name are shown. The userglob is the value that
matches on username. The userglob can be a specific username, part of a
username with a wildcard character (*), or two wildcard characters (**)
to match on all usernames.
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CHAPTER 3: CONFIGURING WIRELESS SERVICES
The 802.1X Service Profile wizards uses the ** userglob in the access
rule. You can use this rule, modify it, or delete it and create a new one.
You also can create additional rules. For syntax information, see the
“Wireless Service Parameters” section in the “Configuring Wireless
Parameters” chapter of the Wireless LAN Switch Manager Reference
Manual.
To modify or create access rules
See the “Modifying SSID Encryption Settings and Access Rules” section in
the “Configuring Wireless Parameters” chapter of the Wireless LAN
Switch Manager Reference Manual.
Set Up VLANs on WX Switches
WX switches in a Mobility Domain contain a user’s traffic within the
VLAN the user is assigned to. For example, if you assign a user to VLAN
red, the WX switches in the Mobility Domain contain the user’s traffic
within VLAN red configured on the switches. The VLANs you set up for
service sets support wireless users—they don’t serve as management
VLANs.
If a WX is connected to the network by only one IP subnet, the WX must
have at least one VLAN configured. Optionally, each VLAN can have its
own IP address. However, no two IP addresses on the switch can belong
to the same IP subnet. User VLANs must be defined on at least one WX
switch within the Mobility Domain.
You can configure the Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) on a VLAN. STP is
used to maintain a loop-free network; meaning, devices will recognize a
loop in the topology and block one or more redundant paths, creating a
loop-free path.
The Mobility System Software (MSS) supports Per-VLAN Spanning Tree
protocol (PVST). PVST allows a separate spanning tree in each VLAN. STP,
disabled by default on all VLANS, is configurable for individual VLANs.
STP does not run on MAP ports or wired authentication ports and does
not affect traffic flow on these port types.
To set up a VLAN on a WX switch
1 Select Configuration on the toolbar.
2 In the Organizer panel, expand the WX switch.
3 Expand System, then select VLANs.
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4 In the Task List panel, select VLAN.
The Create VLAN wizard is displayed.
5 Enter vlan-mkt as the VLAN name and use the VLAN ID suggested by the
wizard.
6 Click Next. Select the ports you want to use in the VLAN and click Add
or Move.
„
The Add button adds the ports to the new VLAN without removing
them from any other VLANs.
„
The Move button removes the ports from all other VLANs, and places
them in the new VLAN.
The ports appear in the Current Members list.
To tag ports in the VLAN, select Tag and edit the tag value. (Tagging is
required if you click Add, because the ports are then members of
multiple VLANs.)
7 Click Next. (Optional) To assign an IP interface to the VLAN, edit the IP
address or select DHCP Client. To enable the IP interface, select Interface
Enabled.
8 Click Finish.
The new VLAN appears in the Content panel.
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CHAPTER 3: CONFIGURING WIRELESS SERVICES
What’s Next?
After you create Employee services, you can create additional services.
For information about configuring additional services, refer to:
„
„
After you have created additional services, you can create your RF
environment, and deploy your configuration and enable monitoring.
For information about creating your RF environment, refer to:
„
„
„
For information about deploying your configuration and enabling
monitoring of your network, see “Managing and Monitoring Your
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Configure Guest Access Services
69
Configure Guest
Access Services
Guest access is access for visitors at your location and is typically clear (no
encryption).
This section contains the following information about how to configure
Guest access services:
„
„
„
services. The “Step Summary” provides the configurable options you
should set. The table contains references to the section “Example:
Configure Employee Access” on page 55. The references are provided in
case you want to refer back to detailed steps. However, be sure to use
the configurable options for Guest access services set forth in the “Step
Summary” on page 71. Also, you can optionally configure mobility
profiles for your Guest access services to limit access based on criteria,
such as RF coverage area or time of day.
For a summary of configurable items, see “Step Summary” on page 71.
Table 11 Creating a Service for Guest Access
Primary Parameters to
Configure
Task
Path
“Create a
1 Tool bar option: select
From the Create Radio Profile
wizard:
Configuration.
2 Organizer panel: expand
„
Radio profile name: enter a name
the WX switch.
After you create the service
profile, you can map it to the
radio profile.
3 Expand Wireless.
4 Click Radio Profiles.
After you install the MAPs, you
can map their radios to the radio
profile.
5 Select Radio Profile in the
Task List.
Note: The examples in this chapter
configure the radio profile first.
However, you also can configure
the radio profile later as part of
service profile configuration.
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CHAPTER 3: CONFIGURING WIRELESS SERVICES
Table 11 Creating a Service for Guest Access
Primary Parameters to
Configure
Task
Path
“Create a User 1 Tool bar option: select
From the Create Named User
wizard:
Guest Users”
Configuration.
2 Organizer panel: expand
„
„
„
Username: enter name
the WX switch.
Password: enter password
3 Expand AAA.
Authorization attributes:
configure the end-date, to
specify when the account
expires
4 Click Local User Database.
5 Select User in the Task List.
“Create a
Service Profile
Access with
Web Login” on
1 Tool bar option: select
From the Create Service Profile
wizard:
Configuration.
2 Organizer panel: expand
„
Service profile name: edit
name
the WX switch.
3 Expand Wireless.
„
„
SSID name: enter name
4 Click Wireless Services.
SSID Type: use Clear
(unencrypted)
5 Select Web Portal Service
Profile in the Task List.
„
„
VLAN Name: enter name
Authentication server: select
LOCAL or a RADIUS server
group
„
Radio profile: select one
“Set Up VLANs 1 Tool bar option: select
From the Create VLAN wizard:
Configuration.
Switches” on
„
„
„
„
VLAN Name: enter name
VLAN ID: select number
IP Address: enter IP Address
2 Organizer panel: expand
the WX switch.
3 Expand System.
4 Click VLANs.
Ports: select them and either
move them (use them only in
the new VLAN) or add them
(share them with other VLANs)
5 Select VLAN in the Task List.
„
If you add them, select Tag
“Optional:
Profiles” on
1 Tool bar option: select
From the Create Mobility Profile
wizard:
Configuration.
2 Organizer panel: expand
„
„
„
Profile Name: enter one
Ports: use Selected
the WX switch.
3 Expand AAA.
Select the ports or Distributed
MAPs
4 Click Mobility Profiles.
5 Select Mobility Profile in the
Task List.
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71
Step Summary The following list summarizes the fields selected or configuration items
entered configure Guest access.
1 Create a radio profile.
„
From the Radio Profile wizard, enter RadioProfile1 as the Name of the
radio profile.
„
Click Finish.
2 Configure users in the local database:
„
„
„
„
From the Create Named User wizard, enter guest1 as username and
guest1pass as the password.
Configure the end-date authorization attribute to specify when the
account expires.
Allow the wizard to create a server group or select a configured server
group.
Click Finish.
3 Create a Web-Portal service profile.
„
From the Web-Portal Service Profile wizard, click Next and enter
Web-Portal-Guests as the Name of the service profile and Guests as
the SSID.
„
„
„
Click Next. Enter guest_vlan.
Click Next. Click Next again. Select LOCAL and click Add.
Click Next. Click Next again. Select RadioProfile1 and click Add.
Select default and click Remove.
„
Click Finish.
4 Set up a VLAN on the WX switches.
„
From the Create VLAN wizard, enter guest-vlan as the VLAN name.
„
Click Next. Select the VLAN ports. Click Add to share them with
other VLANs or Move to use them exclusively in this VLAN. If you click
Add, then select Tag.
„
Click Finish.
5 Optional: Configure a Mobility Profile.
„
From the Create Mobility Profile wizard, enter the Profile Name.
„
Select Selected.
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CHAPTER 3: CONFIGURING WIRELESS SERVICES
„
„
Choose the Ports or Distributed MAPs to which you’ll restrict guest
users to certain geographic areas of your network.
Click Finish.
For detailed information about the steps, see the cross-references in the
included in the following sections.
Create a User Group and Guest Users
A simple way to administer guest user accounts is to configure a guest
user group and add users to the group.
To create users
1 Select Configuration on the toolbar.
2 In the Organizer panel, expand the WX switch.
3 Expand AAA, then select Local User Database.
4 In the Task List panel, select User.
5 Type the username and password.
Leave the User Group unassigned. (You can add the user to the group
when you create the group.)
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Configure Guest Access Services
73
Leave the VLAN name unassigned.
For Web Portal access, you specify the VLAN name when you configure
the guest service profile. (See step 8 on page 77.)
6 Click Next.
The wizard lists the authorization attributes you can configure for the
user. A very useful authorization attribute for guest users is the end-date,
which specifies the date and time when the user’s network access
expires.
7 Click in the Value column next to end-date and specify the ending date
and time for this user’s guest access. Use the following format:
YY/MM/DD-HH:MM
8 Click Finish.
The new user appears in the Content panel.
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CHAPTER 3: CONFIGURING WIRELESS SERVICES
To create a user group and add users to it
1 In the Task List panel, select User Group.
2 Type a name for the group in the name box and click Next.
The wizard lists the authorization attributes you can configure for the
group. For this example, leave the attributes unconfigured.
If attributes are configured for a user and also for the group the user is in,
the attributes assigned to the individual user take precedence for that
user.
3 Click Next. The users configured in the local database are listed. Select
the guest users in the Available Users list and click Add.
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Configure Guest Access Services
75
4 Click Finish.
The new group appears in the Content panel.
Create a Service Profile for Guest Access with Web Login
To create a Web-Portal service profile
1 Select Configuration on the toolbar.
2 In the Organizer panel, expand the WX switch.
3 Expand Wireless, then select Wireless Services.
4 In the Task List panel, select Web-Portal Service Profile.
The Web-Portal Service Profile wizard is displayed.
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CHAPTER 3: CONFIGURING WIRELESS SERVICES
5 Click Next.
6 Change the service profile name to Web-Portal-Guests, and use the name
Guests for the SSID.
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Configure Guest Access Services
77
7 Select the SSID Type:
„
Clear —Data is not encrypted
Encrypted—Data is encrypted
„
For this example, Clear is selected.
8 Click Next. Type or select the name of the VLAN you want to place your
guests users in. For this example, use guest-vlan.
Typing the VLAN name here does not actually configure the VLAN. To
configure a VLAN, see “Set Up VLANs on WX Switches” on page 66.
9 Click Next. The wizard displays the ACL that will automatically be added
to the configuration by the wizard. The ACL restricts users to DHCP traffic
only, while they are in the portal and are being authenticated. After
successful authentication, the user is allowed through the portal and the
ACL no longer applies to the user session.
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CHAPTER 3: CONFIGURING WIRELESS SERVICES
10 Click Next. Select the location of the user information and click Add:
„
LOCAL—The switch’s local database
„
RADIUS server group—group of external RADIUS servers
(For a server group to be available in the wizard, the group must already
For this example, LOCAL is selected.
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Configure Guest Access Services
79
11 Click Next. The wizard shows the user names configured in the local
database.
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CHAPTER 3: CONFIGURING WIRELESS SERVICES
Also listed is a user named web-portal-ssid, where ssid is the Web-Portal
SSID name. This user is automatically created. The switch uses the
web-portal-ssid username for users while they are in the portal and are
being authenticated. After a user is authenticated, the username of the
session changes to the user’s login name.
If you need to add users, you can do so from within the wizard by clicking
Create.
12 Click Next. Select RadioProfile1 in the Available Radio Profiles list and
click Add. Select the default radio profile and click Remove.
13 Click Finish.
The new service profile appears in the Content panel.
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Configure Guest Access Services
81
View the Service Profile’s Access Rules
To view a Web-Portal service profile’s access rules
1 Select the service profile in the Wireless Service Profiles table (located in
the Content panel).
A Setup group appears in the Task List panel.
2 In the Task List panel, select Web Portal Access.
The Configure 802.1X Access wizard appears. The wizard displays the
encryption settings, access rules, and AAA settings for the service profile
and allows you to change them. You also can configure new access rules
using the wizard.
The wizard is similar to the 802.1X Access wizard, but shows access
information for the Web-Portal service profile. (See “View the Service
Optional: Configure Mobility Profile™ attributes allow or deny access to the network for a
Mobility Profiles specific user or group of users. When you create a Mobility Profile, you
specify which MAP ports, Distributed MAPs, or wired authentication ports
are to be included. Typically, you include ports that are defined as MAP
ports or Distributed MAPs. You can specify that all or no ports are
included, or you can specify a list of ports to be included.
When you apply the Mobility Profile, it guests have access only through
specific areas of your WLAN—if they roam outside of a designated area
supported by a WX switch or certain MAPs, they no longer have access to
the Internet.
After creating a Mobility Profile, you can assign it to users created in the
local WX user database, or users who are authenticated and authorized
by a RADIUS server. To assign it to users in the WX user database, you
add the Mobility Profile name when you create or modify a user or user
group. To add this on a RADIUS server, you assign the name of the
Mobility Profile by using the Mobility-Profile RADIUS attribute, which is a
3Com vendor-specific attribute (VSA).
To create a Mobility Profile
1 Select Configuration on the toolbar.
2 In the Organizer panel, expand the WX switch.
3 Expand AAA, then select Mobility Profiles.
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CHAPTER 3: CONFIGURING WIRELESS SERVICES
4 In the Task List panel, select Mobility Profile.
The Create Mobility Profiles wizard appears.
5 In the Profile Name box, type the name of the Mobility Profile.
The name can be up to 16 alphanumeric characters, and it cannot
contain tabs.
The Mobility Profile Name has to be defined as an authorization attribute
in the defined users or user groups in the local database.
6 In the Ports list, specify ports to include in the Mobility Profile:
„
„
„
All—Include all MAP or wired authentication ports. Go to step 10.
Selected—Include a selected list of ports. Go to the next step.
None—Include no ports. Go to step 10.
7 Select the ports to be included in the Mobility Profile and click Add.
8 Click Next. In the Distributed MAPs list, specify the Distributed MAPs to
include in the Mobility Profile:
„
All—Include all Distributed MAPs. Go to step 10.
„
Selected—Include a selected list of Distributed MAPs. Go to the next
step.
„
None—Include no Distributed MAPs. Go to step 10.
9 Select the Distributed MAPs to be included in the Mobility Profile and
click Add.
10 Click Finish to save the changes and close the wizard.
What’s Next?
After you create Guest services, you can create another service.
For information about configuring an additional service, refer to:
„
You can create your RF environment, and deploy your configuration and
enable monitoring.
For information about creating your RF environment, refer to:
„
„
„
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Configure Voice over Wireless IP Service
83
For information about deploying your configuration and enabling
monitoring your network, refer to:
„
Configure Voice
over Wireless IP
Service
Voice over Wireless IP (VoWIP) is a new technology, merging VoIP (Voice
over IP) with 802.11 wireless LANs to create a wireless telephone system.
Organizations that add VoWIP to their wireless LANs can deploy and
manage voice and data over a single wireless backbone, reserving some
portion of network bandwidth to support real-time voice
communications.
For a VoWIP service (sometimes also referred to simply as VoIP, or Voice
over IP), you can configure either local or RADIUS server authentication,
and add Access Lists (ACLs) to restrict user access.
This section contains the following information about how to configure
VoWIP services:
„
„
„
„
„
Table 12 contains the tasks you must perform to configure Guest access
services. The table contains references to the section “Example:
Configure Employee Access” on page 55. The references are provided in
case you want to refer back to detailed steps. However, be sure to use
the configurable options for VoWIP access services set forth in the “Step
Summary” on page 85. The “Step Summary” provides the configurable
options you should set.
Task Table Table 12 contains the tasks you need to perform to create VoWIP access
services. For a summary of configurable items, see “Step Summary” on
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CHAPTER 3: CONFIGURING WIRELESS SERVICES
Table 12 Creating a Service for VoWIP Access
Task
Path
Primary Parameters to Configure
1 Tool bar option: select
From the Create Radio Profile wizard:
Configuration.
„
Radio profile name: enter a name
2 Organizer panel: expand the
For SpectraLink, from the Radio Profile Properties
dialog:
WX switch.
3 Expand Wireless.
„
802.11 attributes: change DTIM to 3
4 Click Radio Profiles.
After you create the service profile, you can map it
5 Select Radio Profile in the Task to the radio profile.
List.
After you install the MAPs, you can map their radios
to the radio profile.
Note: The examples in this chapter configure the
radio profile first. However, you also can configure
the radio profile later as part of service profile
configuration.
1 Tool bar option: select
From the Create Service Profile wizard:
Configuration.
„
„
„
„
„
„
Service profile name: edit name
SSID name: enter name
2 Organizer panel: expand the
WX switch.
SSID Type: use Clear (unencrypted)
VLAN Name: enter name
3 Expand Wireless.
4 Click Wireless Services.
Authentication server: select LOCAL
Radio profile: select one
5 Select Voice Service Profile in
the Task List.
1 Tool bar option: select
From the Create VLAN wizard:
Configuration.
„
„
„
„
VLAN Name: enter name
VLAN ID: select number
IP Address: enter IP Address
2 Organizer panel: expand the
WX switch.
3 Expand System.
4 Click VLANs.
Ports: select them and move them to the voice
VLAN
5 Select VLAN in the Task List.
For SpectraLink, from the VLAN Properties dialog:
IGMP: disable
SVP requires IGMP snooping to be disabled.
„
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Configure Voice over Wireless IP Service
85
Step Summary The following list summarizes the fields selected or configuration items
entered in the example that follows to configure VoWIP access:
1 Create a radio profile.
„
From the Radio Profile wizard, enter RadioProfileVoic as the Name of
the radio profile.
„
„
„
„
Click Finish.
Select the radio profile and click Properties.
Select the 802.11 Attributes and change the DTIM Period to 3.
Click OK.
2 Create a Voice service profile.
„
From the Voice Service Profile wizard, click Next and enter
Voice-WMM, Voice-SVP, Voice-Avaya, or Voice-Vocera as the Name
of the service profile and WMM, SVP, Avaya, or Vocera as the SSID.
„
„
Select the Vendor (SpectraLink, Avaya, Vocera, or Other).
Click Next. Select the access type. (The examples in this section use
Open Access.)
„
Click Next. Select the data encryption method. (The examples in this
section use WPA and disable Static WEP.)
„
„
Click Next. Leave TKIP enabled and click Next.
Click Next. Type a passphrase from 8 to 63 characters long in the
Pre-shared Key box and click Generate.
„
„
„
„
Click Next. Type voice-vlan as the VLAN name to place voice users in.
Click Next. (If the device supports WMM, select WMM.)
Click Next. Select RadioProfileVoic in the Radio Profiles list.
Click Finish.
3 Set up a VLAN on the WX switches.
„
From the Create VLAN wizard, enter voice-vlan as the VLAN name.
„
Click Next. Select the VLAN ports. Click Move to use them exclusively
in this VLAN.
„
„
„
Click Finish.
Select the VLAN and click Properties.
Select IGMP and deselect Enabled to disable IGMP snooping.
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CHAPTER 3: CONFIGURING WIRELESS SERVICES
map (DTIM) interval to 3.
To create a radio profile for voice service
1 Select Configuration on the toolbar.
2 In the Organizer panel, expand the WX switch.
3 Expand Wireless, then select Radio Profiles.
4 In the Task List panel, select Radio Profile.
5 The Create Radio Profiles wizard is displayed.
6 Enter the name of the radio profile (for example, RadioProfileVoic), then
click Next at the bottom of the wizard.
7 If MAPs are already configured, select the radios to map to the radio
profile, then click Move.
3WXM removes the radios from the radio profile they are in and places
them in the new profile.
If you have not configured the MAPs in 3WXM yet, no radios are listed.
You can map the radios to the radio profile later.
8 Click Finish to save the changes and close the wizard.
The new radio profile appears in the Content panel.
9 If you are configuring voice service for SpectraLink devices, do the
following:
a Select the radio profile in the Radio Profiles table and click Properties.
b Click the 802.11 Attributes tab.
c In the DTIM Period box, change the value to 3.
d Click OK.
Create a Service The Voice Service Profile wizard tailors its options based on the vendor
Profile for Voice you select. The wizard has the following vendor options:
„
„
„
„
SpectraLink
Avaya
Vocera
Other
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Configure Voice over Wireless IP Service
87
The SpectraLink, Avaya, and Vocera options configure service for
proprietary VoWIP solutions from these vendors. If you are configuring
VoWIP for devices that use the Wi-Fi Multimedia (WMM) standard, or a
proprietary solution other than one of the listed vendors’, use the Other
option.
Create a Service Profile for WMM VoWIP Devices
1 Select Configuration on the toolbar.
2 In the Organizer panel, expand the WX switch.
3 Expand Wireless, then select Wireless Services.
4 In the Task List panel, select Voice Service Profile.
The Voice Service Profile wizard is displayed.
5 Click Next.
6 Change the service profile name to Voice-WMM, and use the name
WMM for the SSID.
7 Select Other from the Vendor drop-down list.
8 Click Next. Select Open Access and deselect MAC Access.
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CHAPTER 3: CONFIGURING WIRELESS SERVICES
9 Click Next. Select WPA and deselect Static WEP.
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89
10 Click Next. Leave TKIP enabled and click Next.
11 Click Next. Type a passphrase from 8 to 63 characters long in the
Pre-shared Key box and click Generate.
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CHAPTER 3: CONFIGURING WIRELESS SERVICES
12 Click Next. Type or select the name of the VLAN you want to place voice
users in. For this example, use voice-vlan.
Typing the VLAN name here does not actually configure the VLAN. To
configure a VLAN, see “Set Up VLANs on WX Switches” on page 66.
13 Click Next. Select Enable WMM.
14 Click Next. Select RadioProfileVoic in the Radio Profiles list.
15 Click Finish.
Create a Service Profile for SVP VoWIP Devices
1 Select Configuration on the toolbar.
2 In the Organizer panel, expand the WX switch.
3 Expand Wireless, then select Wireless Services.
4 In the Task List panel, select Voice Service Profile.
The Voice Service Profile wizard is displayed.
5 Click Next.
6 Change the service profile name to Voice-SVP, and use the name SVP for
the SSID.
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Configure Voice over Wireless IP Service
91
7 Leave SpectraLink selected in the Vendor drop-down list.
8 Click Next. Select Open Access and deselect MAC Access.
9 Click Next. Select WPA and deselect Static WEP.
10 Click Next. Leave TKIP enabled and click Next.
11 Click Next. Type a passphrase from 8 to 63 characters long in the
Pre-shared Key box and click Generate.
12 Click Next. Type or select the name of the VLAN you want to place SVP
users in. For this example, use voice-vlan.
Typing the VLAN name here does not actually configure the VLAN. To
configure a VLAN, see “Set Up VLANs on WX Switches” on page 66.
13 Click Next.
14 Click Next. The wizard displays the ACL that will automatically be added
to the configuration by the wizard. The first rule in the ACL provides high
-priority treatment of SVP traffic by marking IP protocol 119 (SVP) packets
with CoS 7. The second rule permits all other traffic in the VLAN.
15 Click Next. Select RadioProfileVoic in the Radio Profiles list.
16 Click Finish.
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CHAPTER 3: CONFIGURING WIRELESS SERVICES
Create a Service Profile for Avaya VoWIP Devices
1 Select Configuration on the toolbar.
2 In the Organizer panel, expand the WX switch.
3 Expand Wireless, then select Wireless Services.
4 In the Task List panel, select Voice Service Profile.
The Voice Service Profile wizard is displayed.
5 Click Next.
6 Change the service profile name to Voice-Avaya, and use the name Avaya
for the SSID.
7 Select Avaya in the Vendor drop-down list.
8 Click Next. Select Open Access and deselect MAC Access.
9 Click Next. Select WPA and deselect Static WEP.
10 Click Next. Leave TKIP enabled and click Next.
11 Click Next. Type a passphrase from 8 to 63 characters long in the
Pre-shared Key box and click Generate.
12 Click Next. Type or select the name of the VLAN you want to place Avaya
users in. For this example, use voice-vlan.
Typing the VLAN name here does not actually configure the VLAN. To
configure a VLAN, see “Set Up VLANs on WX Switches” on page 66.
13 Click Next.
14 Click Next. The wizard displays the ACL that will automatically be added
to the configuration by the wizard.
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Configure Voice over Wireless IP Service
93
15 Click Next. Select RadioProfileVoic in the Radio Profiles list.
16 Click Finish.
Create a Service Profile for Vocera VoWIP Devices
1 Select Configuration on the toolbar.
2 In the Organizer panel, expand the WX switch.
3 Expand Wireless, then select Wireless Services.
4 In the Task List panel, select Voice Service Profile.
The Voice Service Profile wizard is displayed.
5 Click Next.
6 Change the service profile name to Voice-Vocera, and use the name
VoceraBadges for the SSID.
7 Select Vocera in the Vendor drop-down list.
8 Click Next. Leave MAC Access selected.
9 Click Next. Leave Static WEP selected.
10 Specify the WEP keys.
„
For each key (up to four), type the key value in the corresponding key box.
„
By default, data in unicast and multicast packets are encrypted using
WEP key 1. To use another key for either type of packet, select the key
number in the WEP Unicast Key Index or WEP Multicast Key Index box.
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CHAPTER 3: CONFIGURING WIRELESS SERVICES
11 Click Next. Type or select the name of the VLAN you want to place SVP
users in. For this example, use voice-vlan.
Typing the VLAN name here does not actually configure the VLAN. To
12 Click Create to add MAC users to the switch’s local database.
a In the User MAC Address box, type the MAC address for the user
device, using colons (:) as delimiters. You must specify all 6 bytes of
the MAC address.
b In the MAC User Group list, select the MAC user group that the user
device belongs to if the group is already configured.
c In the VLAN Name box, select or type the name of the VLAN that the
user device belongs to (1 to 16 alphanumeric characters, with no
spaces or tabs). The WX switch will authorize the user for that VLAN.
For more information on VLANs, see “Viewing and Configuring
VLANs” in the Wireless LAN Switch Manager Reference Manual.
d Click Next. In the attribute row you want to configure, click the
Attribute Value column. (See the “Authorization Attributes” section in
the “Configuring Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting
Parameters” chapter of the Wireless LAN Switch Manager Reference
Manual.)
e Click Finish.
13 Click Next. Select RadioProfileVoic in the Radio Profiles list.
14 Click Finish.
Set Up a VLAN for VoWIP on WX Switches
This procedure is similar to the procedure in “Set Up VLANs on WX
Switches” on page 66, except IGMP snooping is disabled on the VLAN.
To set up a VLAN for VoWIP on a WX switch
1 Select Configuration on the toolbar.
2 In the Organizer panel, expand the WX switch.
3 Expand System, then select VLANs.
4 In the Task List panel, select VLAN.
The Create VLAN wizard is displayed.
5 Enter a name such as vlan-voice and use the VLAN ID suggested by the
wizard.
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What’s Next?
95
6 Click Next. Select the ports you want to use in the VLAN and click Add
or Move.
„
The Add button adds the ports to the new VLAN without removing
them from any other VLANs.
„
The Move button removes the ports from all other VLANs, and places
them in the new VLAN.
The ports appear in the Current Members list.
To tag ports in the VLAN, select Tag and edit the tag value. (Tagging is
required if you click Add, because the ports are then members of
multiple VLANs.)
7 Click Next. (Optional) To assign an IP interface to the VLAN, edit the IP
address or select DHCP Client. To enable the IP interface, select Interface
Enabled.
8 Click Finish.
The new VLAN appears in the Content panel.
For SVP, continue with the following steps, to disable IGMP snooping. For
VoWIP types that do not require IGMP to be disabled, you can stop here.
9 Select the VLAN in the VLANs table and click Properties.
10 Click the IGMP tab.
11 Deselect Enabled, to disable IGMP snooping on the VLAN.
12 Click OK.
What’s Next?
After you create VoWIP access services, you can create another service.
For information about configuring an additional service, refer to:
„
You can create your RF environment, and deploy your configuration and
enable monitoring.
For information about creating your RF environment, refer to:
„
„
„
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CHAPTER 3: CONFIGURING WIRELESS SERVICES
For information about deploying your configuration and enabling
monitoring your network, refer to:
„
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USING RF AUTO-TUNING
4
What Is RF
Auto-Tuning?
RF Auto-Tuning is a technique you can use to configure your RF (radio)
network. RF Auto-Tuning is a quick method that requires minimal
configuration and no RF planning or site surveys, and instead, relies on
the AutoTune feature to set MAP channels and power settings.
This is a great way to quickly install a WX switch and MAPs, and observe
how the network operates. The RF Auto-Tuning technique is best suited
to networks containing fewer MAPs.
To use this technique:
1 Physically place your equipment (WX switches and MAPs) in their desired
locations.
2 Configure initial WX switch connectivity (configure IP addresses).
3 Upload the WX switch configuration into a 3WXM network plan.
4 Create a service profile.
5 Create a radio profile (or use the default radio profile).
6 Map your service profile to your radio profile.
7 Create your MAPs.
8 Apply a radio profile to each radio on a MAP.
9 Deploy your configuration.
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CHAPTER 4: USING RF AUTO-TUNING
Place Your
Equipment
You will need to unpack and physically install your WX switches and
MAPs. For information about installing your equipment, see “Equipment
Configure Initial
WX Switch
Connectivity
After installing a WX switch, you must prepare it for configuration and
management by 3WXM, by configuring IP connectivity between the WX
and 3WXM. Use the Web Quick Start (if available), or enter the
quickstart command at the CLI prompt.
For more information about configuring initial WX switch connectivity,
see the Wireless LAN Switch and Controller Quick Start Guide.
An administrative certificate is also required on the WX switch to enable
management access by 3WXM. If the switch does not already have
certificates, MSS automatically generates them the first time you boot
using MSS Version 4.2 or later. You do not need to install certificates
unless you want to replace the ones automatically generated by MSS. (For
more information, see the “Certificates Automatically Generated by
MSS” section in the “Managing Keys and Certificates” chapter of the
Wireless LAN Switch and Controller Configuration Guide.)
Upload the WX
Switch
Retrieve the basic configuration information you added to the WX switch
and upload it into 3WXM.
Configuration into
a 3WXM Network
Plan
To upload the WX switch configuration into a 3WXM network
plan
1 Select the Configuration tool bar option.
2 In the Task List panel, select Upload Wireless Switch.
3 In the IP Address box, type the IP address for the WX switch.
4 In the Enable Password box, type the enable password for the WX switch.
This password must match the enable password that was defined using
the CLI command set enablepass. For more information, see the
Wireless LAN Switch and Controller Configuration Guide.
5 Click Next. The uploading progress is shown.
6 After the Successfully uploaded device message is displayed, click Next.
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Create a Service Profile
99
3WXM uses its verification rules to check the switch’s configuration. If an
item in the configuration generates an error or warning, 3WXM displays
the error or warning message.
7 Review the verification messages to determine whether you will need to
make changes to the switch’s configuration after uploading it into
3WXM.
8 Click Next.
9 Click Finish.
10 If 3WXM displayed error or warning messages, select the Verification tool
bar option. (See the “Verifying Configuration Changes” chapter in the
Wireless LAN Switch Manager Reference Manual.)
Create a Service
Profile
A service profile contains the configuration for the service you want to
offer, such as employee access, guest access, or multi-hosted access.
For more information about service profiles, see “Wireless
Configuration” on page 36. For more information about wireless
To create a service profile
1 Select the Configuration tool bar option.
2 In the Organizer panel, click the plus sign next to the WX switch.
3 Click the plus sign next to Wireless.
4 Select Wireless Services.
5 In the Task List panel, select one of the following:
„
802.1X Service Profile—Provides wireless access to 802.1X clients.
„
Voice Service Profile—Provides wireless access to Voice over IP (VoIP)
devices.
„
„
„
Web-Portal Service Profile—Provides wireless access to clients who log
in using a web page.
Open Access Service Profile—Provides wireless access to clients
without requiring them to log in.
Custom Service Profile—Provides wireless access based on the
combination of option you choose. (Use this option only if none of the
other options applies to the type of service you want to offer.)
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CHAPTER 4: USING RF AUTO-TUNING
A wizard for configuring the service profile appears.
6 Read the first page of the wizard and click Next.
7 Edit the service profile and type an SSID name.
8 Edit additional settings as applicable to the type of service profile you are
creating.
For information, see the following:
„
„
“Viewing and Configuring Wireless Services” section in the
“Configuring Wireless Parameters” chapter of the Wireless LAN
Switch Manager Reference Manual
9 Click Finish.
Create a Radio
To create a radio profile and map a service profile to it
Profile and Map the
Service Profile to It
1 Select the Configuration tool bar option.
2 In the Organizer panel, click the plus sign next to the WX switch.
3 Click the plus sign next to Wireless.
4 Select Radio Profiles.
5 In the Task List panel, select Radio Profile.
6 In the Name box, type the name of the radio profile (1 to 16 characters,
with no spaces or tabs).
7 Click Next. Click Next again.
8 To map the radio profile to a service profile, select the service profile in
the Available Service Profiles list and click Add.
9 Click Finish.
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Create Your MAPs 101
Create Your MAPs
Depending on how your MAPs are connected to a WX switch, you need
to create a direct connect MAP or a distributed MAP in your network plan
in 3WXM. A direct connect MAP is connected to the wired network
through a direct 10/100 Ethernet connection to a WX switch. A
distributed MAP is connected to the WX switch indirectly through other
Layer 2 or Layer 3 wired networking devices.
To create a directly connected MAP in 3WXM
1 Access the Create Direct-Connect AP wizard:
a Select the Configuration tool bar option.
b In the Organizer panel, click the plus sign next to the WX switch.
c Click the plus sign next to Wireless.
d Select Access Points.
e In the Task List panel, select Direct-Connect AP.
2 Select the WX port the MAP will be connected to from the Available Ports
drop-down list.
Configuring a directly connected MAP in a port converts the port to an
MAP access port. If the port is a statically configured member of a VLAN,
the port is removed from the VLAN.
3 Click Next.
4 Select the MAP model from the MAP Model list.
5 To select the radio type for a single-radio model, click the MAP Radio Type
box and select the radio type from the list:
„
„
„
11a—802.11a
11b—802.11b only
11g—802.11b/g
6 Click Next.
The non-editable number (1 or 2) indicates the radio number on the MAP.
7 To select the radio type for a single-radio model, click the MAP Radio Type
box and select the radio type from the list:
„
„
„
11a—802.11a
11b—802.11b only
11g—802.11b/g
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8 Click Next.
9 Configure the radios:
a To enable the radio, select Enabled.
b In the Radio Profile list, select the profile to which the radio belongs.
c In the Channel Number list, select the channel number for the radio.
If RF Auto-Tuning for channel configuration is enabled, setting this value
has no effect. The channel number is controlled by RF Auto-Tuning.
d In the Transmit Power box, specify the transmit power for the radio.
If RF Auto-Tuning for power configuration is enabled, setting this value
has no effect. The power level is controlled by RF Auto-Tuning.
10 Click Finish.
To create a Distributed MAP in3WXM
1 Access the Create Distributed AP wizard:
a Select the Configuration tool bar option.
b In the Organizer panel, click the plus sign next to the WX switch.
c Click the plus sign next to Wireless.
d Select Access Points.
e In the Task List panel, select Distributed AP.
2 In the Name box, type a name (1 to 16 alphanumeric characters, with no
spaces or tabs).
3 In the DAP Number box, specify the connection number for the WX
switch’s connection to this Distributed MAP. The range of valid
connection numbers depends on the WX switch model:
„
„
„
For a WX4400, you can specify a number from 1 to 300.
For a WX1200, you can specify a number from 1 to 30.
For a WXR100, you can specify a number from 1 to 8.
4 In the Serial Number box, type the serial number of the MAP.
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Create Your MAPs 103
5 In the Fingerprint box, type the 16-digit hexadecimal number of the
MAP’s encryption fingerprint. Use either of the following formats:
„
11:22:33:44:55:66:77:88:99:aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff:00
1122:3344:5566:7788:99aa:bbcc:ddee:ff00
„
A MAP’s fingerprint is the hash value of the MAP’s public encryption key.
The fingerprint is displayed on a label on the back of the MAP, and is
labeled RSA key. If the MAP is already installed and operating, use the CLI
command display dap status command to display the fingerprint.
The fingerprint is used for secure communication between the WX switch
and the MAP, and applies only to Distributed MAPs.
6 Click Next.
7 Select the MAP model from the MAP Model list.
8 To select the radio type for a single-radio model, click the MAP Radio Type
box and select the radio type from the list:
„
„
„
11a—802.11a
11b—802.11b only
11g—802.11b/g
9 Click Next.
10 Configure the radios:
a To enable the radio, select Enabled.
b In the Radio Profile list, select the profile to which the radio belongs.
c In the Channel Number list, select the channel number for the radio.
If RF Auto-Tuning for channel configuration is enabled, setting this value
has no effect. The channel number is controlled by RF Auto-Tuning.
d In the Transmit Power box, specify the transmit power for the radio.
If RF Auto-Tuning for power configuration is enabled, setting this value
has no effect. The power level is controlled by RF Auto-Tuning.
e If the MAP has two radios, click Next and go to step 10. Otherwise,
go to step 11.
11 Click Finish.
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Apply a Radio
Profile to Each
Radio
When you create a MAP, a new radio (or radios, depending upon the type
of MAP created) are added into 3WXM. The radios use the default radio
profile in 3WXM unless you create a new radio profile and apply it to
each radio on the MAP.
For more information about creating a radio profile, see “Create a Radio
To apply a radio profile to a radio
1 Select the Configuration tool bar option.
2 In the Organizer panel, click the plus sign next to the WX switch.
3 Click the plus sign next to Wireless.
4 Select Radio Profiles.
5 In the Radio Profiles table, select the radio profile.
6 Click Properties.
7 Click the Radio Selection tab.
8 Select the radios in the Available Members list and click Move.
9 Click OK.
You have completed the necessary steps for configuring your RF
environment.
What’s Next?
After you create your services (“Configuring Wireless Services” on
page 51) and following the instructions in this chapter to create your RF
environment, you need to deploy your configuration and enable
monitoring. Optionally, you can improve your network monitoring
options by modelling your floor and defining RF obstacles.
„
For information about monitoring your network, see “Managing and
„
For information about enhancing RF Auto-Tuning with modelling to
better define your site and improve monitoring options, see “Using RF
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USING RF AUTO-TUNING WITH
MODELLING
5
What Is RF
Auto-Tuning with
Modelling?
RF Auto-Tuning with modelling is a technique you can use to configure
and implement your network that builds on the RF Auto-Tuning method.
You will, as the name implies, still use RF Auto-Tuning (auto tuning) to
adjust power and channel settings to provide RF signals to the coverage
area for your users. You’ll then enhance the auto tuning feature by
providing modelling information about your geographic location.
your network plan:
1 Add site information (buildings and floors) or import a floor drawing
2 Add RF obstacles (optional)
3 Add an RF coverage area
By providing some information about your buildings and floors, you add
enough details into 3WXM so that you can better visualize your network
topology and support improved monitoring at your site.
To learn more about the benefits of RF Auto-Tuning with modelling, see
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CHAPTER 5: USING RF AUTO-TUNING WITH MODELLING
Add Site
Information
By adding minimal information about your buildings and floors at your
site, you support improved monitoring for your network. You can
manually add building and floor information or you can import a floor.
For information about importing a floor plan, see “Import a Floor Plan”
To add site information
1 Select the RF Planning tool bar option.
2 In the Organizer panel, click the name of the network plan.
3 Select Create Site in the Task List panel. The Create Site wizard, a series
of dialog boxes, prompts you for information about the new site.
4 In the Site Name box, type a name for the site (1 to 80 alphanumeric
characters, with no spaces or tabs), and click Next.
5 To change the Country Code, select the country where the network is to
be deployed in the Country Code list.
6 In the Channel Set (802.11b/g) list, select the set of operating channels
for any 802.11b/g MAP radios you plan to use (if different from the
default), and click Next.
7 In the Number Of Buildings box, specify how many buildings are in your
site, and click Finish.
When you specify the number of buildings a site contains, 3WXM creates
each building using the default settings. You can edit the buildings
3WXM creates or you can add new buildings.
To create a building
1 In the Organizer panel, click the site name.
2 Select Create Building in the Task List panel. The Create Building wizard
prompts you for information about the new building.
3 In the Building Name box, type the name of the building (1 to 30
alphanumeric characters, with no spaces or tabs), and click Next.
4 In the Number Of Floors box, specify how many floors the building has.
When you specify the number of floors a building contains, 3WXM
creates each floor using the default settings. You can edit the floors
3WXM creates or you can add new floors.
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Add Site Information 107
5 In the Starting Floor Level box, specify the floor number of the first floor
in the building. To start with a subterranean floor, you can specify 0 or a
negative floor number.
6 In the Skip Floor Levels box, specify floor numbers you want to skip.
Skipping floors is useful when you want to model only certain floors in a
building. To enter a list of floors, use commas to separate the floor
numbers (example: 1,3,7). To enter a range, use a hyphen (example:
8-12).
7 Click Finish to close the wizard.
To add a floor to the building
1 In the Organizer panel, click the building name.
2 Select Create Floor in the Task List panel. The Create Floor wizard
prompts you for information about the new floor.
3 In the Floor Name box, type the name of the floor (1 to 60 alphanumeric
characters, with no spaces or tabs), and click Next.
4 To change the default attenuation for radios, type the number of dB in
the 802.11a (dB) box or 802.11b/g (dB) box.
5 In the Height of the Ceiling box, type the number of feet or meters from
the floor to the ceiling (1 to 1000 feet or meters).
6 Click Finish to close the wizard.
7 When you click on the floor’s name in the Organizer panel, a view of the
floor plan is displayed in the Content panel. Click on the ruler icon to set
the scale of your floor.
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CHAPTER 5: USING RF AUTO-TUNING WITH MODELLING
Insert RF Obstacles
Add major RF obstacles that will affect the placement of your MAPs, such
as solid walls, barriers, or elevator shafts.
To add RF obstacles
1 Display the floor plan in the Content panel.
2 In the Task List panel, click Tools.
3 In the RF Obstacle area under Layout, click one of the icons that most
closely matches the RF obstacle you wish to place.
4 Click and drag the mouse to draw the location and shape of the RF
obstacle on the floor.
The Create RF Obstacle wizard is displayed.
5 Enter a description of the RF obstacle, and select the Obstacle Type from
the list.
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Insert RF Obstacles 109
A default attenuation factor is displayed for the object type, or, you can
select an attenuation factor that you believe more closely matches the RF
obstacle.
6 Click Finish. The RF obstacle is added to your floor layout.
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CHAPTER 5: USING RF AUTO-TUNING WITH MODELLING
Create Your RF
Coverage Area
To create your RF coverage area, you create a wiring closet (mandatory if
you have direct MAPs in your plan), designate an area for RF coverage, and
add your distributed MAPs or direct MAPs to the coverage area. Distributed
MAPs are indirectly attached through intermediate Layer 2 or Layer 3
devices. Direct MAPs are directly attached to dedicated WX switch ports.
Create a Wiring To add the location of a wiring closet to the floor plan
Closet
1 Display the floor plan in the Content panel.
2 In the Task List panel, click Tools.
3 In the Wiring Closer/Misc area under Coverage Area, click the
(Insert
Wiring Closet) icon.
4 Click in the floor display where you want to place the wiring closet. The
Create Wiring Closet wizard appears.
5 In the Name box, type the name of the wiring closet (1 to 60 characters,
with no tabs).
6 Click a WX switch in the Available Devices box, then click the Add button
to move it to the Current Devices box.
7 Click Finish to save the changes. The wiring closet is displayed on your
floor plan.
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Create Your RF Coverage Area 111
Create Your RF To create your RF coverage area
Coverage Area
1 Display the floor plan in the Content panel.
2 In the Task List panel, click Tools.
3 In the Create area under Coverage Area, click one of the icons and draw
the RF coverage area you want to add to the floor by clicking and
dragging the mouse. The Create Coverage Area wizard appears.
4 Select one or more technologies you want to use in the coverage area
and click Next. The wizard presents properties and association pages for
the technology you chose in step 3.
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CHAPTER 5: USING RF AUTO-TUNING WITH MODELLING
5 In the Name box for each technology, type a name for the coverage area
(1 to 60 characters long, with no tabs).
6 In the Rate [Mb/s] list for each technology, select the average desired
association rate for typical clients in this coverage area.
7 For 802.11g, to prevent the association of 802.11b clients to any radio in
this coverage area, select Exclude 802.11b clients. To allow 802.11b
clients to associate to radios in the coverage area, clear Exclude 802.11b
clients.
Even when association of 802.11b clients is disabled, if an 802.11b/g
radio detects a beacon from an 802.11b network, the radio enters
protection mode to protect against interference.
8 Click Next. The Floor Properties page appears.
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Create Your RF Coverage Area 113
9 To change the ceiling height, specify the new height in the Height of the
Ceiling box.
10 To change the height where MAPs are mounted, specify the new
mounting height in the MAP Placement Height box.
11 Click Next. The Default Device Settings page appears.
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CHAPTER 5: USING RF AUTO-TUNING WITH MODELLING
12 To change the default WX switch model, select the model from the WX
Model list.
13 To change the default MAP model, select the model from the Default AP
Model list.
14 To change the MAP connection type, select the type from the AP
Connection Type list:
„
Direct—MAPs are directly attached to dedicated WX switch ports.
„
Distributed—MAPs can be indirectly attached through intermediate
Layer 2 or Layer 3 devices.
„
Distributed (Auto)—MAPs can be indirectly attached through
intermediate Layer 2 or Layer 3 devices. They receive their
configuration automatically using a profile that assigns a Distributed
MAP number and name to the MAP from among the unused valid
MAP numbers available on the switch.
15 Click Next. If you selected Direct or Distributed in the AP Connection
selected Distributed (Auto) in the AP Connection Type list, the Capacity
Planning for Data page appears; go to step 20.
16 To plan for redundant MAP connections to WX switches, select
Compute Redundancy.
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Create Your RF Coverage Area 115
17 To change the MAP connection type for the redundant connection, select
Direct or Distributed from the MAP Connection Type list.
18 To change the number of redundant connections for the distributed
connection type, type the number in the Redundancy Level box.
For direct connections, the redundancy level is always 1.
19 Click Next. The Capacity Planning for Data page appears.
20 To calculate MAP placement and configuration based on both coverage
and on capacity, enable Use Capacity Calculation for Data. Otherwise,
By default, 3WXM performs only the coverage calculation. If you enable
the Use Capacity Calculation for Data option, 3WXM performs both
calculations.
21 In the Per Station Throughput list, specify the throughput (combined
transmit and receive) in kilobits per second (Kbps) for a station.
22 In the Expected Station Count list, specify the number of clients you
expect to be in the coverage area.
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CHAPTER 5: USING RF AUTO-TUNING WITH MODELLING
23 In the Station Oversubscription Ratio list, select the ratio for the average
transmit behavior of the stations.
The station oversubscription ratio is the ratio of active clients compared to
total clients. For example, the ratio 5:1 indicates that, statistically, 20
percent of the clients are active at any given time.
24 Click Next. The Capacity Planning for Voice page appears.
25 To calculate MAP placement and configuration based on both coverage
and on capacity for voice over IP, enable Use Capacity Calculation for
By default, 3WXM performs only the coverage calculation. If you enable
the Use Capacity Calculation for Voice option, 3WXM performs both
calculations.
26 In the Active Call Bandwidth list, specify the amount of bandwidth in
kilobits per second (Kbps) that you expect for each call.
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Create Your RF Coverage Area 117
27 In the Active Handsets per AP list, specify the number of voice over IP
phones that you want each MAP to handle.
28 In the Expected Handset Count list, specify the number of voice over IP
phones you expect to be in the coverage area.
29 In the Handset Oversubscription Ratio list, select the ratio for the average
transmit behavior of the voice over IP phones.
The handset oversubscription ratio is the ratio of active handsets
compared to total handsets. For example, the ratio 4:1 indicates that,
statistically, 25 percent of the voice over IP phones are active at any given
time.
30 Click Next. The Mobility Domain, Radio Profile, Wiring Closet(s) page
appears.
31 In the Mobility Domain list, select the Mobility Domain that contains the
MAPs used for this coverage area.
32 In the Radio Profile list, select the radio profile used for this coverage
area.
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CHAPTER 5: USING RF AUTO-TUNING WITH MODELLING
The profiles available depend on the Mobility Domain you selected in
step 31. The profile you select applies to all radios associated with the
coverage area. If you type the name of a radio profile that does not
already exist, 3WXM creates it.
33 In the Wiring Closet list, select the wiring closet that contains the WX
switch or switches to be connected to the shared MAPs.
If the MAPs will be directly connected to WX switches, a wiring closet is
required. If all the MAPs in the coverage area will be indirectly connected
to WX switches through the network, a wiring closet is not required.
34 In the Redundant Wiring Closet list, select the wiring closet that will
provide redundant connection to the MAPs. This is required for directly
connected MAPs, if you require the MAPs to have redundant
connections. Otherwise, this is not required.
35 Click Finish to complete the wizard and create the coverage area. The
coverage area is now displayed on your floor.
Add MAPs Add your direct MAPs or distributed MAPs to your network.
To add direct MAPs or distributed MAPs to your network
1 If you have not already done so, create a wiring closet and associate your
WX switches to the closet. For more information, see “Create a Wiring
direct MAPs or distributed MAPs to your network. Once created, MAPs
can be associated with a coverage area and added to the floor plan.
Associate MAPs to Associate both your distributed MAPs and direct MAPs to a coverage area
the Coverage Area on the floor.
To associate MAPs to the coverage area
1 Select the RF Planning tool bar option.
2 In the Content panel, display the floor plan where the MAPs are to be
installed.
3 In the Organizer panel, click on Coverage Areas.
4 Right-click the Coverage Area to which the MAPs are to be associated,
and select Edit Properties from the menu. The Coverage Area Properties
dialog for the selected coverage area appears.
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Create Your RF Coverage Area 119
5 Click the Associations tab to display area associations information for
the coverage area.
6 In the Available Access Points box, select one or more available MAPs to
use in the coverage area, then click Add to move the MAPs to the
Current Access Points box.
7 Click OK to close the dialog box.
8 In the Organizer panel, click on Objects to Place. A list of the MAPs you
created is displayed in the panel.
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CHAPTER 5: USING RF AUTO-TUNING WITH MODELLING
9 Click on the MAP icon, then click on the location where you installed the
MAP. The MAP icon moves from the Objects To Place panel to its location
on the floor.
What’s Next?
This section provides cross references to information on the following
tasks:
„
„
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USING RF PLANNING
6
What is RF
Planning?
RF Planning is a technique you can use to import detailed information
about your site into 3WXM, add RF obstacle information and third-party
APs, and configure your RF coverage area at a finer level than is possible
using the RF Auto-Tuning with modelling technique.
By defining sites, buildings, and floors, you provide 3WXM with the
necessary information to modularly manage large networks based on
geographical or organizational boundaries. For example, a network plan
can represent a campus-wide network. 3Com recommends that you limit
a network plan to a single campus or Mobility Domain. A network plan is
also limited to one country, since a network plan only supports one
common country code for the WX switches contained in it.
To use the RF planning technique:
„
„
„
„
„
„
„
Prepare your floor plan graphic files
Add site information
Add RF obstacles
Add an RF coverage area
Create a work order
Install your equipment
Deploy your configuration
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CHAPTER 6: USING RF PLANNING
Prepare the Floor
Drawings
If your floor drawings are contained in JPEG or GIF files, this step does not
If you plan to import AutoCAD DXF™ or AutoCAD DWG files into
3WXM, you should perform some “clean up” work before importing the
files. Doing this work before you import the files into 3WXM creates a
more compact file, requiring less storage space. Typically, the more CAD
diagram cleanup that is done within the CAD software, the more
smoothly the drawing will import into 3WXM.
To clean up the AutoCAD file:
„
„
„
„
Perform an audit
Turn on, unlock, and unfreeze all layers
Remove unnecessary notations
Purge unused blocks, line types, and layers
Typically, based on the drawing technique chosen when the drawing file
was created in AutoCAD or TurboCAD, a single object may be drawn
with more than one line; for example, walls. When such an object is
imported, it results in more than one object in 3WXM. To avoid the actual
object being defined as more than one obstacle, delete parallel lines
within a certain distance.
Another method you can use to achieve the same result is to group all
the lines into one object. For example, you might group four lines that
form an office or conference room to create one attenuation factor for
that entire area. Or, group multiple lines that were drawn in the floor
plan to create a bigger line.
Grouping lines is not always recommended. For example, grouping lines
into one object does not work well with polylines. Grouped polylines are
recognized by the planning tool in 3WXM as a single, monolithic
obstacle. This causes incorrect results when viewing RF coverage.
Objects must not be RF Obstacles or Groups before Clean Layout is
performed.
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Define Site Information 123
After you import the file into 3WXM, you have the opportunity to remove
any unnecessary objects overlooked during your initial preparation of the
floor drawings. To do this, you can use the Clean Layout feature and
other editing tools in the Building wizard.
For more information about how to prepare the AutoCAD files for
3WXM, refer to the Wireless LAN Switch Manager Reference Manual.
Define Site
Information
You define your site with information about your campus, buildings, and
floors. In addition, you describe the attenuation characteristics of the
location and specify the traffic engineering needs (bandwidth and
reliability) of the users.
3WXM commits your work into the network plan only when you click
Finish, not when you click Next. Changes are not persistently saved until
you save the network plan.
To create a network plan
1 Connect to a host running 3WXM Services. When you start 3WXM, the
3WXM main window and the 3WXM Services Connection dialog box
appear.
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CHAPTER 6: USING RF PLANNING
2 In the 3WXM Services Connection dialog box, enter the IP address of a
host running 3WXM Services, optionally enter a user name and
password, and click Next.
If the 3WXM Service is installed on the same machine as the one you are
using to run 3WXM, enter 127.0.0.1 as the IP address. This is a standard
IP loopback address.
3 After a connection is established to the specified 3WXM Services host,
select File > New Network Plan. The Create Network Plan wizard
appears.
4 In the Network Plan Name box, type a name for the network plan. You
can use 1 to 60 alphanumeric characters, with no spaces, tabs, or any of
the following: slash (/), backslash (\), quotation marks (“ ”), asterisk (*),
question mark (?), angle brackets (< >), or vertical bar (|).
5 In the Country Code list, select the country where the network is to be
deployed.
You must select a country code before continuing.
6 Click Next to save the network plan on the server and open it in 3WXM.
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Define Site Information 125
To add site information
1 Select the RF Planning tool bar option.
2 In the Organizer panel, click the name of the network plan.
3 Select Create Site in the Task List panel. The Create Site wizard, a series
of dialog boxes, prompts you for information about the new site.
4 In the Site Name box, type a name for the site (1 to 80 alphanumeric
characters, with no spaces or tabs), and click Next.
5 To change the Country Code, select the country where the network is to
be deployed in the Country Code list.
6 In the Channel Set (802.11b/g) list, select the set of operating channels
for any 802.11b/g MAP radios you plan to use (if different from the
default), and click Next.
7 In the Number Of Buildings box, specify how many buildings are in your
site, and click Finish.
When you specify the number of buildings a site contains, 3WXM creates
each building using the default settings. You can edit the buildings
3WXM creates or you can add new buildings.
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CHAPTER 6: USING RF PLANNING
To create a building
1 In the Organizer panel, click the site name.
2 Select Create Building in the Task List panel. The Create Building wizard
prompts you for information about the new building.
3 In the Building Name box, type the name of the building (1 to 30
alphanumeric characters, with no spaces or tabs), and click Next.
4 In the Number Of Floors box, specify how many floors the building has.
When you specify the number of floors a building contains, 3WXM
creates each floor using the default settings. You can edit the floors
3WXM creates or you can add new floors.
5 In the Starting Floor Level box, specify the floor number of the first floor
in the building. To start with a subterranean floor, you can specify 0 or a
negative floor number.
6 In the Skip Floor Levels box, specify floor numbers you want to skip.
Skipping floors is useful when you want to model only certain floors in a
building. To enter a list of floors, use commas to separate the floor
numbers (example: 1,3,7). To enter a range, use a hyphen (example:
8-12).
7 Click Finish to close the wizard.
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Define Site Information 127
To add a floor to the building
1 In the Organizer panel, click the building name.
2 Select Create Floor in the Task List panel. The Create Floor wizard
prompts you for information about the new floor.
3 In the Floor Name box, type the name of the floor (1 to 60 alphanumeric
characters, with no spaces or tabs), and click Next.
4 To change the default attenuation for radios, type the number of dB in
the 802.11a (dB) box or 802.11b/g (dB) box.
5 In the Height of the Ceiling box, type the number of feet or meters from
the floor to the ceiling (1 to 1000 feet or meters).
6 Click Finish to close the wizard.
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CHAPTER 6: USING RF PLANNING
Import a Floor Plan Import existing floor plans into 3WXM. The file can be in one of the
AutoCAD DXF, AutoCAD DWG, JPEG, or GIF formats.
3Com recommends that you modify the AutoCAD files from AutoCAD to
remove unnecessary objects and layers; then save them in .dxf format.
For more information about how to modify AutoCAD files, see “Prepare
To import a floor drawing:
1 In the Organizer panel, click on the plus sign next to the building to
expand it, then click on the name of the floor for which you are
importing the drawing. An empty floor layout appears in the Content
panel.
2 In the Task List panel, under RF Planning, select Import Floor Layout.
Browse to the file you wish to import, then click Finish. The imported
drawing is displayed in the Content panel.
Figure 7 Floor Plan After Importing
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Define Site Information 129
Set the Scale Set the scale on your floor plan to better define the distance between
objects in your network.
To set the scale
1 Display the floor plan in the Content panel.
2 Click
on the toolbar.
a Draw a line on the floor plan over an object whose length you know;
for example, a 3-foot door.
b Enter the actual length of the object in the pop-up box.
c Click OK.
You may want to zoom in the object to be used to define the scale to
make this task easier.
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Clean Layout Clean up your floor drawings further if unnecessary objects still remain
after you your initial floor drawing cleanup.
Note the following when cleaning up a drawing:
„
„
„
Drawing cleanup does not apply to GIF or JPEG drawings.
Drawing cleanup does not change objects that are grouped.
If two objects that would normally be cleaned (such as two parallel
lines close together) exist on different layers, then neither object is
removed.
For more information about cleaning up your floor plans, see “Prepare
To clean up a drawing
1 Display the floor plan in the Content panel.
2 In the Task List panel, under RF Planning, click Clean Layout. The Floor
Plan Clean Up wizard appears.
Select the items you would like to remove from the floor plan. Select the
layers you want to affect.
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Define Site Information 131
3 Click Next.
Cleanup progress is displayed at the bottom of the wizard.
4 You can display a Before Cleanup and After Cleanup view
when cleanup is complete.
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5 When you are satisfied with the results, click Finish.
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Model RF Obstacles 133
Model RF Obstacles
When planning a 3Com network, you need to consider how the building
layout and physical objects affect signal loss. Walls, windows, and doors
absorb RF signals, and different building materials have different
attenuation factors.
You can model an RF obstacle on your floor plan and assign the obstacle
type and attenuation factor, or you can assign an obstacle type and
attenuation factor to objects in a DWG or DXF drawing. 3WXM uses
these values when calculating coverage for the network.
If you do not have an imported drawing, or if you are working with a GIF
or JPEG image, you must create RF obstacles manually. If you are using an
imported CAD drawing, you can convert many of the objects in the
drawing into RF obstacles. All objects similar in construction material
should be placed in one layer. For example, if the drawing file has walls
spread out in different layers, but after performing a site-survey, they
walls were found to be similar in material construction, it is better to put
them in one layer. In this way, the RF attenuation assignment can be
performed in one step.
This section show how to select and draw objects and convert them into
RF obstacles. 3WXM preserves the layers defined in a CAD drawing.
Table 13 provides some common AutoCAD layer terminology.
Table 13 Common AutoCAD Layer Terminology
AutoCAD Layer Name
Commonly Represents...
windows
glaz
scol
p-fixt
p-part
ext
steel columns
bathroom
bathroom stall partitions
exterior
int
interior
To create RF obstacles for all objects in a layer
1 Click Layers in the Organizer panel to bring up a list of the layers in the
drawing.
2 Right-click one of the layers in the Organizer panel.
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3 Select Create RF Obstacles from the menu that is displayed. The Create
RF Obstacle dialog box appears.
4 Define the RF obstacle.
5 Click Finish.
The layer’s objects are now obstacles in your floor plan.
Import a Site
Survey
You can import RF measurement data by means of a site survey done
outside of 3WXM. Using the Site Survey Order report from 3WXM, a map
is created of your site that can be used in an Ekahau site survey. After the
survey is complete, the measurement data can be imported back into
3WXM, and RF obstacles adjusted. In this way, actual, measured
information about RF obstacles can be obtained and incorporated into
your plan.
This guide contains post-deployment information about optimization on
“Displaying the RF Coverage Area” on page 189. For pre-deployment
information about optimization, see “Optimizing a Network Plan” in the
Wireless LAN Switch Manager Reference Manual.
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Plan RF Coverage 135
Plan RF Coverage
How you plan the RF coverage for your network depends on whether you
are planning for the widest coverage or are planning for capacity. There
are other contributing factors. One group of users may be mobile and
require high throughput performance (a higher bandwidth), while
another group of users are more stationary and require less throughput.
Select the RF Coverage tab in the Create Building wizard to define your
coverage area. This section contains the following coverage tasks:
„
„
„
„
„
„
Add Wiring Closets A wiring closet is a container for switches. You need to add at least one
wiring closet location to the floor plan. Also consider if you are installing
direct MAPs. Direct MAPs (access points directly connected to the WX)
should be connected to the WX with UTP Cat 5 cabling. The distance
between the MAP and the WX in the wiring closet can not exceed 100
meters (330 feet).
To add a wiring closet
1 Display the floor plan in the Content panel.
2 In the Task List panel, click Tools.
3 In the Wiring Closer/Misc area under Coverage Area, click the
(Insert
Wiring Closet) icon.
4 Click in the floor display where you want to place the wiring closet. The
Create Wiring Closet wizard appears.
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5 In the Name box, type the name of the wiring closet (1 to 60 characters,
with no tabs).
6 Click a WX switch in the Available Devices box, then click the Add button
to move it to the Current Devices box.
7 Click Finish to save the changes. The wiring closet is displayed on your
floor plan.
Create Coverage The RF coverage area is the geographical area in your network you define
Areas RF coverage. As you configure the RF coverage area, consider the amount
of bandwidth required for the area, as well as the number of users. You
define the coverage area graphically on your floor plan using the
coverage area drawing tool. Almost all shapes for a coverage area are
possible. However, the following restrictions apply:
„
A shape where two sides intersect each other is not permitted.
„
A shared coverage area where there is a partial intersection is not
supported.
3WXM supports the sharing of coverage areas if one area is completely
within a larger area. For example, you might want to provide 802.11a
and 802.11b coverage in a conference room that is part of a larger
coverage area only providing 802.11a coverage. MAPs are shared only in
the overlapped area.
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Plan RF Coverage 137
When you draw a coverage area, it aligns to the grid to provide a whole
number for width and height of the shape.
To create a coverage area
1 Display the floor plan in the Content panel.
2 In the Task List panel, click Tools.
3 In the Create area under Coverage Area, click one of the icons and draw
the RF coverage area you want to add to the floor by clicking and
dragging the mouse. The Create Coverage Area wizard appears.
4 Select one or more technologies you want to use in the coverage area
and click Next. The wizard presents properties and association pages for
the technology you chose in step 3.
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5 In the Name box for each technology, type a name for the coverage area
(1 to 60 characters long, with no tabs).
6 In the Rate [Mb/s] list for each technology, select the average desired
association rate for typical clients in this coverage area.
7 For 802.11g, to prevent the association of 802.11b clients to any radio in
this coverage area, select Exclude 802.11b clients. To allow 802.11b
clients to associate to radios in the coverage area, clear Exclude 802.11b
clients.
Even when association of 802.11b clients is disabled, if an 802.11b/g
radio detects a beacon from an 802.11b network, the radio enters
protection mode to protect against interference.
8 Click Next. The Floor Properties page appears.
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Plan RF Coverage 139
9 To change the ceiling height, specify the new height in the Height of the
Ceiling box.
10 To change the height where MAPs are mounted, specify the new
mounting height in the MAP Placement Height box.
11 Click Next. The Default Device Settings page appears.
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CHAPTER 6: USING RF PLANNING
12 To change the default WX switch model, select the model from the WX
Model list.
13 To change the default MAP model, select the model from the Default AP
Model list.
14 To change the MAP connection type, select the type from the AP
Connection Type list:
„
Direct—MAPs are directly attached to dedicated WX switch ports.
„
Distributed—MAPs can be indirectly attached through intermediate
Layer 2 or Layer 3 devices.
„
Distributed (Auto)—MAPs can be indirectly attached through
intermediate Layer 2 or Layer 3 devices. They receive their
configuration automatically using a profile that assigns a Distributed
MAP number and name to the MAP from among the unused valid
MAP numbers available on the switch.
15 Click Next. If you selected Direct or Distributed in the AP Connection
Type list, the Redundant Connections page appears; go to step 16. If you
selected Distributed (Auto) in the AP Connection Type list, the Capacity
Planning for Data page appears; go to step 21.
16 To plan for redundant MAP connections to WX switches, select
Compute Redundancy.
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Plan RF Coverage 141
17 To change the MAP connection type for the redundant connection, select
Direct or Distributed from the MAP Connection Type list.
18 To change the number of redundant connections for the distributed
connection type, type the number in the Redundancy Level box.
19 For direct connections, the redundancy level is always 1.
20 Click Next. The Capacity Planning for Data page appears.
21 To calculate MAP placement and configuration based on both coverage
and on capacity, enable Use Capacity Calculation for Data. Otherwise,
click Next and go to step 25.
By default, 3WXM performs only the coverage calculation. If you enable
the Use Capacity Calculation for Data option, 3WXM performs both
calculations.
22 In the Per Station Throughput list, specify the throughput (combined
transmit and receive) in kilobits per second (Kbps) for a station.
23 In the Expected Station Count list, specify the number of clients you
expect to be in the coverage area.
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CHAPTER 6: USING RF PLANNING
24 In the Station Oversubscription Ratio list, select the ratio for the average
transmit behavior of the stations.
The station oversubscription ratio is the ratio of active clients compared to
total clients. For example, the ratio 5:1 indicates that, statistically, 20
percent of the clients are active at any given time.
25 Click Next. The Capacity Planning for Voice page appears.
26 To calculate MAP placement and configuration based on both coverage
and on capacity for voice over IP, enable Use Capacity Calculation for
Voice. Otherwise, click Next and go to step 31.
By default, 3WXM performs only the coverage calculation. If you enable
the Use Capacity Calculation for Voice option, 3WXM performs both
calculations.
27 In the Active Call Bandwidth list, specify the amount of bandwidth in
kilobits per second (Kbps) that you expect for each call.
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Plan RF Coverage 143
28 In the Active Handsets per AP list, specify the number of voice over IP
phones that you want each MAP to handle.
29 In the Expected Handset Count list, specify the number of voice over IP
phones you expect to be in the coverage area.
30 In the Handset Oversubscription Ratio list, select the ratio for the average
transmit behavior of the voice over IP phones.
The handset oversubscription ratio is the ratio of active handsets
compared to total handsets. For example, the ratio 4:1 indicates that,
statistically, 25 percent of the voice over IP phones are active at any given
time.
31 Click Next. The Mobility Domain, Radio Profile, Wiring Closet(s) page
appears.
32 In the Mobility Domain list, select the Mobility Domain that contains the
MAPs used for this coverage area.
33 In the Radio Profile list, select the radio profile used for this coverage area.
The profiles available depend on the Mobility Domain you selected in
step 32. The profile you select applies to all radios associated with the
coverage area. If you type the name of a radio profile that does not
already exist, 3WXM creates it.
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CHAPTER 6: USING RF PLANNING
34 In the Wiring Closet list, select the wiring closet that contains the WX
switch or switches to be connected to the shared MAPs.
If the MAPs will be directly connected to WX switches, a wiring closet is
required. If all the MAPs in the coverage area will be indirectly connected
to WX switches through the network, a wiring closet is not required.
35 In the Redundant Wiring Closet list, select the wiring closet that will
provide redundant connection to the MAPs. This is required for directly
connected MAPs, if you require the MAPs to have redundant
connections. Otherwise, this is not required.
36 Click Finish to complete the wizard and create the coverage area. The
coverage area is now displayed on your floor.
Compute and Place When you perform the Compute and Place procedure for one or more
MAPs coverage areas, 3WXM automatically calculates the number of MAPs you
require and places them in appropriate locations on the floor. To do this,
two calculations are performed in 3WXM. One is based on capacity
(traffic engineering) and the other is based on pure RF coverage (at a
given data rate).
After the calculations are performed, the number of MAPs from capacity
and the number of MAPs from coverage are compared, and the bigger
count “wins.” If capacity wins, a grid pattern of MAPs is established. The
MAP coverage positions are reused, with the excess MAPs remaining in
their original grid position.
Using a “clean” RF model is imperative for best results. If you have many
parallel RF obstacles that are close together, the placement algorithm
tends to add more MAPs than are required. So, even with the automatic
clean layout mechanism in 3WXM, complex drawings demand additional
pruning and isolation of single RF obstacles objects to keep the RF
obstacle count as low as possible. For more information about cleaning
your floor plans, see “Clean Layout” on page 130.
When you are performing Compute and Place for a coverage area for the
first time, the results do not account for existing MAPs. Manual overrides
of the MAP results are not taken into account if you perform Compute
and Place again.
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Plan RF Coverage 145
To determine the number and placement of MAPs
1 Display the floor plan in the Content panel.
2 In the Task List panel, click RF Planning.
3 Under RF Planning, click Compute and Place. The Compute and Place
wizard appears.
4 To remove a coverage area from MAP placement and computation, clear
the area’s Compute Layout box.
5 To specify the primary wiring closet for a coverage area, click in the
Wiring Closet column to display the wiring closet list and select a wiring
closet from the list.
6 Click Next. The Coverage Area Progress page appears. Information is
shown about the number of MAPs per coverage area, and whether they
were placed based on coverage or capacity.
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CHAPTER 6: USING RF PLANNING
7 Review the number of MAPs required for each coverage area, and the
overriding criterion used (coverage or capacity).
8 Click Finish to apply the changes. Icons for the suggested MAP locations
appear on the floor plan.
Assign Channel After identifying the MAPs required for a coverage area, you need to
Settings assign channels to the MAPs. Appropriate assignment of channels across
the floor minimizes co-channel interference. The channel assignment
algorithm assigns non-overlapping channels to neighboring APs from the
selected channel set. Choose the starting floor and the ending floor (in
the downward direction) for multi-floor channel assignment. The
algorithm takes predicted RSSI values between neighboring MAPs
(including MAPs on different floors and 3rd party APs) and minimizes
same-channel assignments between APs. You can specify cross-floor
attenuation and the 802.11 technology on which you want to perform
the channel assignment. 3WXM uses predicted RSSI values for the
imaginary “ray” that is drawn between two MAPs. Consequently, you
may see unexpected results if the exact path between the MAPs has
many obstacles, but the areas around that path are relatively open. You
can make further manual adjustments, if necessary.
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Plan RF Coverage 147
To assign channels
1 Display the floor plan in the Content panel.
2 In the Task List panel, click RF Planning.
3 Under RF Planning, click Assign Channels. The Channel Assignment
wizard appears, showing the current channel assignment constraints.
4 To change the starting floor for channel assignment, select the floor from
the Begin On Floor List. By default, 3WXM starts at the top floor and
works down.
5 To change the ending floor for channel assignment, select the floor from
the End On Floor List.
The ending floor number must be lower than or equal to the starting
floor number.
6 To change the radio type for which to assign channels, select the radio
type from the Technology list. By default, 3WXM assigns channels for all
radio types on the MAPs placed in the building.
7 To prevent 3WXM from taking the channel assignments for the floor
above into account when calculating the channel assignments for a floor,
clear Use Cross-Floor Channel Information.
8 Click Next. The Channel Assignment Progress page appears.
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CHAPTER 6: USING RF PLANNING
9 Review the results. The 802.11a channel assignments are listed on the
802.11a Radio(s) tab. The 802.11b/g channel assignments are listed on
the 802.11b/g Radio(s) tab.
10 Click Finish to accept the channel assignments.
The new channel assignments are reflected in the Coverage Areas panel.
Calculate Optimal The Compute and Place procedure is performed using the maximum
Power allowed power for the selected channel set in the defined regulatory
domain. Optimal power can be computed for each MAP, where transmit
power is adjusted (up or down) to provide adequate coverage with
minimum RF interference.
When calculating optimal power, you can manually change positions and
counts of MAPs (add or remove MAPs) before the final power
optimization is performed. Changing MAP quantities and positions is
quite typical, given that an operator can interpret the floor plan and
understand any cabling constraints to avoid any positioning problems.
Transmit power levels must be high enough to adequately cover an area,
but also low enough to minimize co-channel interference. 3WXM factors
in these considerations when calculating optimal power.
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Plan RF Coverage 149
To calculate optimal power
1 In the Task List panel, click RF Planning.
2 Under RF Planning, click Compute Optimal Power.
The Compute Power For wizard appears, showing a list of the areas you
defined and the corresponding technology.
3 To optimize the AP count, select Optimize AP Count. This option checks
for coverage overlaps and removes an MAP if neighboring MAPs provide
enough coverage to make the MAP unnecessary.
4 Select Compute Power for the areas for which you want to compute
power.
5 Click Next. The Compute Power For Progress page appears. Click Finish
to see the results.
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Display Coverage Looking at the RF coverage allows you to see if the entire area is
adequately covered by the MAPs. You can move the MAPs and see how
the coverage changes.
To display the RF coverage for an area
1 Beside Show RF Coverage Using, select how you want to display the
coverage:
„
Baseline Association Rate—Coverage is shown based on the MAP
radio baseline association rate. The baseline association rate is the
typical data rate the radio is expected to support for client
associations. (The baseline association rate is specified during
planning, on a coverage area basis.)
„
„
Data Rate—Coverage is shown in colored bands that represent each
of the data transmit rates supported by the radio. These rates are
standard for each radio type.
RSSI—Coverage is shown based on the received signal strength
indication (RSSI) of the radio’s signal heard by other radios.
2 Right-click on a coverage area and select Show RF Coverage.
3 Select the A, B, or G icon from the toolbar to view the coverage area for
that technology.
The coverage area is displayed, color-coded by channel.
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Generate a Work Order 151
If the coverage area provided by a MAP on the floor above or below is
one meter or less, 3WXM displays a message. This coverage area is not
displayed on the floor plan.
Generate a Work
Order
You can generate a work order as part of your wireless network
planning. The work order provides all of the necessary information for the
physical installation of the 3Com Mobility System. A work order shows
where the MAPs should be installed, WX initial setup configuration
information, and projected RSSI information that is useful when verifying
the installation.
To generate a work order
1 Display the floor plan in the Content panel.
2 In the Task List panel, click RF Planning.
3 Under RF Planning, click Work Order Report. The Work Order
Generation dialog is displayed.
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CHAPTER 6: USING RF PLANNING
4 Specify the work order options.
5 In the Language list, select English or German.
The language you select is the language used when you next access this
page.
6 To select the directory to which the work order report is saved, click
Choose. The Select dialog box appears.
7 Click Generate.
The work order is saved in the directory you specified in the format
WO_scope_name_date. If you generate another order for the same scope
on the same day, the old work order is overwritten.
When the work order has been generated, the View button becomes
available.
8 Click View. A browser window opens to display the work order in HTML
format.
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Install the Equipment 153
Install the
Equipment
After you print the work order from 3WXM, you can distribute it to your
installers. The work order shows where to install the 3Com equipment. If
you have specified third-party APs in the network plan, those will be
considered in the work order, too.
For more information about installing the equipment, see “Equipment
What’s Next?
A 3WXM network plan can support both RF Auto-Tuning and RF
Planning techniques at the same time. You can use RF Auto-Tuning to
meet the demands of rapid network changes that can be caused by a
greater or lesser number of users, or by a physical blockage of MAPs. You
are alerted when changes occur in your network of this nature.
„
To fine tune your network’s RF coverage area and performance, see
„
To deploy your network plan and enable and configure monitoring,
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MANAGING AND MONITORING
YOUR NETWORK
7
This chapter provides information to help you deploy the services you
configured for your wireless network, enable communication between a
3WXM client and 3WXM Services, and enable and configure monitoring.
This chapter also provides three monitoring examples you can use as a
guide to troubleshooting user connectivity issues in your network, and
provides you with information about configuring WX switch
management services and performing specific administrative tasks
For an overview of the types of monitoring available in 3WXM, see
For detailed information about monitoring, see the chapter “Monitoring
the Network” in the Wireless LAN Switch Manager Reference Manual.
For detailed information about performing administrative tasks on a WX
switch, see the chapter “Configuring WX System and Administrative
Parameters” in the Wireless LAN Switch Manager Reference Manual.
Deploy Your
Configuration
Any changes you make to your network in 3WXM are saved in the
network plan on the server, but the changes are not applied to your
network until they are deployed. You see the changes in 3WXM, but the
changes are only in the network plan. To implement the changes in the
live network, you must deploy them to the WX switches in the network.
You can easily apply a configuration to multiple WX switches, or deploy
changes to a single WX switch.
3WXM allows you to deploy changes immediately or schedule
deployment of the changes.
To immediately deploy local changes
1 Select the Devices tool bar option.
2 At the bottom of the Task List panel, select Change Management.
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CHAPTER 7: MANAGING AND MONITORING YOUR NETWORK
3 Select one or more WX switches.
To select multiple switches, press Shift (for contiguous switches) or
Control (for noncontiguous switches) while clicking.
4 In the Local Changes group in the Task List panel, click Deploy. The
Deploy Configurations dialog box appears.
The dialog lists the switches that have configuration changes.
5 Select the switches to which you want to deploy the changes.
To select more than one WX, click Shift while clicking to select contiguous
items, or click Ctrl while clicking to select noncontiguous items.
6 Click Deploy.
The deployment status for each affected WX is shown in the History
window at the bottom left of the dialog box.
3WXM performs verification of the changes. If errors occur, they are
listed in the Selected Errors at the bottom right of the dialog box. If there
are errors, fix them and verify the changes before trying to deploy again.
(You can use the Verification tab to fix the errors.)
If the deploy is successful, 3WXM also instructs the WX switch to save the
changes in its configuration file.
7 Click Close.
You can click Close at any time after clicking Deploy. The operation
continues in the background. To review the status of the operation, use
the operation log. (Select View Operation Log.)
To schedule deployment of local changes
1 Select the Devices tool bar option.
2 At the bottom of the Task List panel, select Change Management.
3 Select one or more WX switches.
To select multiple switches, press Shift (for contiguous switches) or
Control (for noncontiguous switches) while clicking.
4 In the Task List panel in the Local Changes group, click Schedule
Deploy. The Schedule Deploy dialog box appears.
5 Edit the start date and time.
(The date and time are based on the date and time on the machine
where 3WXM Services is installed.)
6 Click OK.
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Perform Basic Administrative Tasks 157
To verify your deployment
1 Leave the Devices tool bar option selected.
2 Look in the Deploy Status column for the switch(es) to which you
deployed configuration information. The status should be Deploy
Completed.
You also can verify successful deployment by checking the operation log.
To access the log:
1 Select the Devices tool bar option.
2 At the bottom of the Task List panel, select Device Operations.
3 In the Task List panel, select View Operation Log.
Perform Basic
Administrative
Tasks
This section contains information about basic administrative tasks you can
perform in 3WXM.
For detailed information about performing administrative tasks including
configuring WX switch management services, see the chapter
“Configuring WX System and Administrative Parameters” in the Wireless
LAN Switch Manager Reference Manual.
For more information about image and file management, see the chapter
“Managing WX System Images and Configurations” in the Wireless LAN
Switch Manager Reference Manual.
Configuring WX You can configure the following information and management services
Management for the WX switch:
Services
„
System information—You can specify system contact information, as
well as the CLI prompt and the banner message that appears at each
session.
„
HTTPS—By default, HTTPS is enabled. TCP port 443 is used for secure
access by Web Management, the 3Com Web-based application for
managing a WX switch.
3WXM communications also use HTTPS, but 3WXM is not affected by the
HTTPS configuration on the WX. For 3WXM, HTTPS is always enabled and
listens to port 8889.
„
Telnet—By default, Telnet is disabled. You can enable Telnet for
unencrypted access to the CLI.
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CHAPTER 7: MANAGING AND MONITORING YOUR NETWORK
„
„
SSH—By default, SSH is enabled. You can use SSH for encrypted
access to the CLI.
SNMP—By default, SNMP is disabled. You can configure SNMP
community strings and User Security Model (USM) users, notification
profiles, and notification targets.
„
Logging—The system log provides event information for monitoring
and troubleshooting. You can send the log information to a local data
buffer on a WX, to the console, to a Telnet session, and to a
configured set of syslog servers.
„
„
Tracing—Tracing allows you to review diagnostic information for
debugging MSS. Tracing allows you to review messages about the
status of a specific area of MSS.
Time zone and summertime settings—You can configure the system
time and date statically. You also can configure MSS to offset the time
by an additional hour for daylight savings time or similar summertime
period.
To manage services on a WX switch
1 Select the Configuration tool bar option.
2 In the Organizer panel, click the plus sign next to the WX switch.
3 Click the plus sign next to System.
4 Select Management Services.
The management services and their settings appear in the Content panel.
5 Use the Content panel and Task List options to modify settings.
(For information about the management options, see the “Viewing and
Changing Management Settings” section in the “Configuring WX
System Parameters” chapter of the Wireless LAN Switch Manager
Reference Manual.)
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Distributing System Images 159
Distributing System
Images
You can use 3WXM to upgrade or downgrade the system image (MSS
software) on WX switches. System images include switch software and
MAP software.
Using the Image Use the image repository to add or delete WX system images. The image
Repository file is checked and its version is verified when added to the image
repository. Images are stored in the
3Com_installation_directory\images\dp directory.
To add a system image
1 Select the Devices tool bar option.
2 At the bottom of the Task List panel, select Device Operations.
3 In the Task List panel, select Image Repository.
4 Click Add Image. The Add to Repository dialog box appears.
5 Navigate to the directory containing the system image.
6 Select the system image.
7 Click Add to Repository. The image is added to the image repository
and appears in the Image List.
8 To close the Image Repository dialog box, click Close.
To delete a system image
1 In the Image Repository dialog box, select the image you want to delete.
2 Click Remove Image. A prompt appears.
3 Click Yes to delete the system image.
4 To close the Image Repository dialog box, click Close.
Distributing System You can distribute a system image to one or more WX switches in a
Images network plan.
To use a new system image, you must reboot the WX.
3Com recommends that you use the Verification tab to resolve any
configuration errors or warnings before you distribute system images.
Before you can distribute an image, you must add it to the image
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To immediately install an image on WX switches
1 Select the Devices tool bar option.
2 At the bottom of the Task List panel, select Device Operations.
3 In the Managed Devices list, select the WX switches onto which you want
to install the image.
To select more than one WX, click Shift while clicking to select
contiguous items, or click Ctrl while clicking to select noncontiguous
items.
4 In the Task List panel, select Image Install.
5 Click on Select an Image to display the list of images in the repository.
6 Select the image and click Install.
To schedule installation of an image on WX switches
1 Select the Devices tool bar option.
2 At the bottom of the Task List panel, select Device Operations.
3 In the Managed Devices list, select the WX switches onto which you want
to install the image.
To select more than one WX, click Shift while clicking to select
contiguous items, or click Ctrl while clicking to select noncontiguous
items.
4 In the Task List panel, select Schedule Install.
5 Click on Select an Image to display the list of images in the repository.
6 Click Next.
7 Edit the start date and time.
(The date and time are based on the date and time on the machine
where 3WXM Services is installed.)
8 Click Finish.
Saving Versions of You can save multiple versions of a network plan. After deploying a
Network Plans network plan to a WX switch, you can save a snapshot of the plan as a
version. Create versions of the network plan on a regular basis and at
every major baseline event for network configurations. Doing so allows
you to have snapshots of network configurations should you need to
revert to one of them.
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Importing and Exporting Switch Configuration Files 161
If you need to roll back configuration changes, you can use a saved
version to roll back the system software image and configuration files to
a known state. Before you can save a version of a network plan, you need
to deploy and save the network plan. Versions of network plans are saved
in the db/xml/versions directory in the 3WXM installation directory.
After you have saved a version of a network plan, the version appears in
the list of network plans available to open. If you open a version of a
network plan, you are asked whether you want to deploy it or open it.
When the version is open, you see its version name in the title bar of the
main 3WXM window.
To save a version of a network plan
1 Select File > Save As.
2 Type a name for the plan. Make the name descriptive. For example, name
the plan HappyVille_4_0_1.
3 Click Next. The status of the saving process appears.
4 Click Finish.
Saving Network Plans Automatically By default, 3WXM uses the
autosave feature to automatically save changes to a network plan at
regular intervals while you are working.
To view or modify backup settings, select Tools > 3WXM Services
Backup/Restore. The Backup/Restore dialog appears.
Importing and
Exporting Switch
Configuration Files
You can import or export switch configuration files in Extensible Markup
Language (XML) format.
„
The import option enables you to create a WX switch in the network
plan by importing configuration files in Extensible Markup Language
(XML) format. You also can update the configuration of a switch that
is already in the plan.
„
The export option enables you to save a switch’s configuration to an
XML file. After exporting a WX configuration to an XML file, you can
import it to another instance of 3WXM or use it as a backup copy.
If you import a configuration containing information that an older version
of 3WXM or MSS does not support, the information is ignored when the
configuration is imported.
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If you import a switch configuration, you must enable 3WXM
management of the switch before you can deploy the switch to the
network. (To enable 3WXM management of a switch, select the switch in
the Organizer panel, select Managed, then click Save.)
To import a configuration
1 In the main 3WXM window, select File > Import. The Import
Configurations dialog box appears.
2 In the Import Into Mobility Domain group box, select one of the following
options:
„
Click Use File Info to import the configuration information using the
Mobility Domain specified in the configuration file.
„
Click Select to specify a Mobility Domain to import configuration
information to. Then select the Mobility Domain from the list.
3 To replace existing WX switch information in 3WXM with information
from the configuration file, select Update existing WXs.
4 Click Select Files. The Select Files To Import dialog box appears.
5 Select one or more configuration files to be imported. To make multiple
selections, press Shift (for contiguous items) or Control (for
noncontiguous items) while clicking items.
6 Click Select Files To Import. The file or files you selected appear in the
File Import Results list.
7 To remove all the files you previously selected, click Clear Files.
8 Click Import. The status of the import process appears in the Status column.
9 Click Close to save the changes.
10 Enable 3WXM to manage the switch. (Select the switch in the Organizer
panel, select Managed, then click Save.)
To export a configuration
1 Select File > Export. The Export Configurations dialog box appears.
2 In the Export From list, select the Mobility Domain whose configuration
you want to export.
3 If you want to export the configuration file to a different directory, click
the Choose button, which is labeled with the current output directory.
The Select dialog box appears. Navigate to the directory you want to use
as the output directory, and click Select.
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Monitoring Examples 163
4 To overwrite previously exported configuration files, select
Overwrite Existing Files.
If you do not select this option, you cannot export a configuration file
with the same name as an existing file in the output directory. You can
rename the existing file or move the file to another directory.
5 To have 3WXM create a backup copy of a previous configuration file,
select Copy Files Before Overwriting.
6 To include the default configuration commands in the exported file,
select Export Defaults.
7 For each WX whose configuration you want to export, make sure the
Export checkbox is selected.
8 Click Export to begin the exporting process. Messages appear in the
Status column in the WX List box and the Results box.
The configuration is saved in the directory that you specified.
9 To close the Export Configurations dialog box, click Close.
Monitoring
Examples
3WXM provides many monitoring options. The section “Management
and Monitoring” on page 43 provides an overview of all the monitoring
tools available to you.
This section describes how you can use some of the monitoring tools to
determine problems that are typically reported to a network operator.
The monitoring examples described in this section are based on the
following scenarios:
„
An individual user calls the help desk with the complaint that the
network is very slow or inaccessible
„
„
A group of users complain about network performance
You want to monitor and eliminate a rogue AP
Monitor an Individual If an individual user notifies you with the complaint that the network is
User very slow or inaccessible, use the following steps to identify the problem:
1 Find the user. Place the user on a watch list.
2 Locate the user. (If you can locate them, then the scope of the problem
can be narrowed down to performance.)
3 View the user’s network activity.
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CHAPTER 7: MANAGING AND MONITORING YOUR NETWORK
4 View statistics over a period of time. Placing the user on the watch list
allows 3WXM to gather long-term statistics.
Find the User
You can find a user or multiple users based on the following criteria:
„
„
„
„
Username
MAC address
IP address
VLAN name
To find the user
1 Click on the Monitor option in the main 3WXM tool bar.
2 Select the Client Monitor view.
3 Click
on the Client Monitor view’s toolbar. The Find Clients dialog
box appears.
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Monitoring Examples 165
4 Enter the type of search you want to perform, and select the scope for
the search.
5 Click Next. The search results appear.
Place User on Watch List
If viewing the user’s current activity does not conclusively indicate the
source of the problem, you can place the user on a watch list. Statistics
polled for a watch list are gathered over time—up to 30 days. In this way,
a pattern of events or statistics may be revealed, indicating the cause of
the problem.
To place a user on the watch list
1 When the user is displayed in the search results, select the Add Watch
checkbox in the user row.
2 Click Finish.
You can view the user’s history for up to 30 days.
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CHAPTER 7: MANAGING AND MONITORING YOUR NETWORK
You can also add a user to the watch list by clicking the Client Sessions
tab in the Client Monitor view, selecting the client, and clicking the
icon on the toolbar.
Locate the User
You can display the user’s approximate location by doing the following:
1 Click on the Monitor option in the main 3WXM tool bar.
2 Select the Client Monitor view.
3 Click on the Client Sessions tab.
4 Select the user; then click
on the toolbar.
The floor the client is currently on is displayed, as well as the client’s likely
location on the floor. The client is most likely in the vicinity of the area
indicated by the red squares in the floor plan.
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Monitoring Examples 167
Display User Activity
You can display the event types displayed for the user. Disassociation
events can occur, and users dropped from the network. These events can
indicate the reason why access is barred or performance slow for the
user. For example, typical authorization failures occur if the local
database or RADIUS server fails to recognize a user.
To display user activity
1 Click on the Monitor option in the main 3WXM tool bar.
2 Select the Client Monitor view.
3 Click on the Client Sessions tab and select a user.
4 Select the Location History tab to see where the user has been. From
here, you can determine the areas in the WLAN where interference is
occurring.
View Long-Term User Statistics
If the user’s complaint cannot be traced to a specific problem using
current statistics, you can view user activity for the next 30 days.
To view long-term user statistics
1 Click on the Client Watch List tab and select the user.
2 In the Client Details section of the window, select Trend: Lifetime AP
Stats to graph the watch list user’s activity over all MAPs.
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CHAPTER 7: MANAGING AND MONITORING YOUR NETWORK
Using this data, you can determine whether the user’s problem is
interference due to low bandwidth (Unicast Bytes in).
3 Select the Trend: Session Stats tab to display Operational Rate, SNR,
and RSSI statistics.
Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) statistics can help you determine whether the
interference is being created by too much noise on a channel. Receive
Signal Strength (RSSI) statistics can indicate whether a low signal strength
is creating the user’s performance problem. Operational rate statistics
display the throughput per second. The following throughput rates are
optimum:
„
802.11b–11 Mb/s (optimum)
802.11g/a–36 Mb/s or higher
„
4 Select the Session Statistics tab to view statistics for the current MAP,
or for all the MAPs to which the user has connected to the WLAN while
on the watch list.
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Monitoring Examples 169
A high number of Transmit Timeouts for either the Current MAP or
Lifetime of the user can indicate interference problems.
5 Select the Location History tab to view where the user has been roaming.
These statistics indicate whether interference problems are occurring in
specific areas of the WLAN.
Monitor a Group of If a group of users in a specific area of a floor notify you that they are
Users experiencing poor performance, target a radio or multiple radios, and
view the noise and events. RF statistics are found under the RF Monitor
and RF Trends tabs.
To view the RF monitor statistics
1 Click on the Monitor option in the main 3WXM tool bar.
2 Select the RF Monitor view.
3 Expand the Equipment list in the Organizer panel, and select a radio.
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CHAPTER 7: MANAGING AND MONITORING YOUR NETWORK
4 Select the RF Environment tab. Statistics are displayed.
High values for Noise can indicate a problem.
Also, view the Utilization statistics. If utilization is very high, this could
prevent new users from gaining access to the WLAN.
To view trends
1 Click on the Monitor option in the main 3WXM tool bar.
2 Select the RF Trends view.
3 Expand the Equipment list in the Organizer panel, and select a radio.
You can view trends for a WX switch or a MAP.
4 View the Client Failures count.
A high count can indicate a problem with the radio.
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Monitoring Examples 171
Monitor a Rogue MAP radios automatically scan the RF spectrum for other devices
transmitting in the same spectrum. The RF scans discover other 3Com
radios, as well as third-party, non-3Com transmitters. MSS considers the
non-3Com transmitters to be potential rogues, and places them on a
rogue list.
A rogue access point is an access point that is not authorized to operate
in your network. Rogue access points and their clients undermine the
security of an enterprise network by potentially allowing unchallenged
access to the network by any wireless user or client in the physical vicinity.
Rogue access points and users can also interfere with the operation of
your enterprise network. You can configure 3Com to automatically use
countermeasures against rogue APs to disable them.
Not all access points placed on the rogue list are “hostile” rogues. You
may want to move some of the access points from the rogue list to a
known devices list or a third-party AP list. For more information about
this topic as well as more detailed information about combatting rogues,
see the chapter “Detecting and Combatting Rogue Devices” in the
Wireless LAN Switch Manager Reference Manual.
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CHAPTER 7: MANAGING AND MONITORING YOUR NETWORK
To locate a rogue
1 Click on the Rogue Detection option in the main 3WXM tool bar. The
current rogue list is displayed.
2 View statistics on a single rogue. Select a rogue from the Filtered List,
then select the Activity Log tab.
The number of listeners (other MAPs) that detected the rogue are
displayed. The larger the number of listeners detecting the rogue, the
easier it is for 3WXM to locate the rogue in the RF coverage area.
Under Status, the first detected event and the first “not detected” event
are displayed.
3 Locate the device in the RF coverage area. Select a rogue from the
Filtered List and click the
(Locate) icon on the toolbar.
The approximate location of the rogue is displayed in the RF coverage
area.
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Monitoring Examples 173
Configuring Countermeasures
You can enable MSS to use countermeasures against rogues.
Countermeasures consist of packets that interfere with a client’s ability to
use the rogue. Countermeasures are disabled by default. When you
enable them, all devices of interest that are not in the known devices list
become viable targets for countermeasures.
Countermeasures are enabled on an individual radio profile basis. When
you create a radio profile, you can apply it to specified service profiles or
to individual radios. The following example shows how to create a radio
profile, apply the radio profile to MAP radios, then enable
countermeasures in the radio profile.
To enable countermeasures
1 Click on the Configuration option in the main 3WXM tool bar.
2 In the Organizer panel, click the plus sign next to the WX switch.
3 Click the plus sign next to Wireless.
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CHAPTER 7: MANAGING AND MONITORING YOUR NETWORK
4 Select Radio Profiles.
5 In the Task List panel, click on Create Radio Profile. The Create Radio
Profile wizard appears.
6 In the Name box, type the name of the radio profile (1 to 16 characters, with
no spaces or tabs), and click Next. The Radio Profile Members page appears.
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Monitoring Examples 175
7 Select the MAP radios on which you want to enable countermeasures
from the Available Members column, and click Move to move the radios
to the Current Members column.
8 Click Next. The Radio Profile Service Selection page appears.
9 To map the radio profile to a service profile, select the service profile in
the Available Service Profiles list and click Add.
10 Click Finish. The new radio profile appears in the Radio Profiles table in
the Content panel.
11 Select the radio profile you created and click the properties button. The
Radio Profile Properties dialog box is displayed.
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CHAPTER 7: MANAGING AND MONITORING YOUR NETWORK
12 To enable countermeasures against rogues detected by radios managed
by this profile, select one of the following from the Countermeasures
Mode pull-down list:
„
„
None—Radios do not use countermeasures. This is the default.
All—Radios use countermeasures against devices classified by MSS as
rogues and against devices classified by MSS as interfering devices.
A rogue is a device that is in the 3Com network but does not belong
there. An interfering device is not part of the 3Com network but also is
not a rogue. MSS classifies a device as an interfering device if no client
connected to the device has been detected communicating with any
network entity listed in the forwarding database (FDB) of any WX switch
in the Mobility Domain. Although the interfering device is not connected
to your network, the device might be causing RF interference with MAP
radios.
„
Rogue—Radios use countermeasures against devices classified by MSS
as rogues, but do not use countermeasures against devices classified
by MSS as interfering devices.
CAUTION: Countermeasures affect wireless service on a radio. When a
MAP radio is sending countermeasures, the radio is disabled for use by
network traffic, until the radio finishes sending the countermeasures.
„
Configured—Causes radios to attack only devices specified in the
attack list on the WX switch (on-demand countermeasures). When
this option is used, devices found to be rogues by other means, such
as policy violations or by determining that the device is providing
connectivity to the wired network, are not attacked.
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Monitoring Examples 177
13 To disable active scanning for rogue devices, deselect Enable Active Scan.
When active scan is enabled, radios send probe any requests (probe
requests with a null SSID name), to solicit probe responses from other
access points. Radios also passively scan by listening for beacons and
probe responses. When active scan is disabled, radios perform passive
scanning only.
14 Click Finish to save the changes and close the wizard.
To verify that countermeasures are being taken against the rogue
1 Click on the Rogue Detection option in the main 3WXM tool bar.
2 Select a rogue from the Filtered List and click the Activity Log tab.
3 The Status column will show countermeasure activity.
If countermeasures start, stop, and start again, the rogue may have left
the area, then returned, or another MAP in the coverage area may have
taken over countermeasure activities from the last MAP to detect the
rogue.
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OPTIMIZING A NETWORK PLAN
8
Optimizing your network is a post-deployment technique. You can
optimize your WLAN by importing RF measurement data to correct RF
attenuation obstacle information in your network plan. You optimize
your network plan because:
„
You have a reported coverage problem in your network
You want to verify your network RF coverage
„
The RF measurement data you use to optimize your network plan can
originate from:
„
MAPs in your network. You can leverage the RF measurements
derived from your MAPs. If you choose to use RF measurement data
from the MAPs in your network, the data is determined against a
smaller set of RF measurements.
„
An Ekahau Site Survey™ tool. You perform a site survey of your
network. The benefit of using RF measurements derived from a site
survey is that the results more closely match the coverage
environment that your wireless users experience in your network.
Thousands of measurements can be recorded, creating a set of RF
measurements that are more precise than those gained from your
deployed MAPs.
„
Both MAPs and a site survey.
By importing data and applying it to your network plan, you correct the
RF model to reflect what the measurements report. You update the RF
attenuation for obstacles based on real-world measurements. You can
then replan your network to:
„
Make changes in the software to improve signal strength and
coverage for groups or individuals
„
„
Modify MAP locations
Add additional equipment to your network
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CHAPTER 8: OPTIMIZING A NETWORK PLAN
The following sections describe how to import RF measurements from
your network, or how to import RF measurements from an Ekahau site
survey.
Using RF
Measurements
from MAPs
You can apply the RF measurements derived from the MAPs in your
WLAN (which regularly monitors the RF environment) to your network
plan. The RF measurements are taken from MAP radios.
After you apply the RF measurements, the floor’s RF model (obstacles)
will be optimized with this data.
To import RF measurements from MAPs
1 Select the RF Planning option in the main 3WXM tool bar.
2 Display the floor plan in the Content panel.
3 In the Task List panel, click RF Planning.
4 Under Site Survey, click Import Measurement. The Import RF
Measurements wizard is displayed.
5 Select Yes next to Network.
6 Click Next.
The import progress is displayed. When the import is done, click Finish to
accept the changes and close the wizard.
After you apply the network RF measurements, you correct the
Model” on page 187 for information about this topic.
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Using RF Measurements from an Ekahau Site Survey 181
Using RF
RF measurements come from a site survey file generated by the Ekahau
Site Survey tool. To perform a site survey:
Measurements
from an Ekahau
Site Survey
„
In 3WXM—View your RF coverage area.
„
In 3WXM—Generate a site survey work order, specifying the area you
want to survey. A JPEG (.jpeg, .jpg) file is generated.
„
„
„
Import the generated JPEG file into the Ekahau Site Survey tool.
Set the scale of the drawing.
Perform the site survey. Walk through the area, taking measurements
with the tool.
„
„
„
Save the RF measurements in the Ekahau Site Survey tool to a file in
comma-separated values (csv) format.
In 3WXM—Import the csv file containing the RF measurements into
3WXM.
In 3WXM—Optimize to correct attenuation factors.
The chapter guides you through the tasks you need to do in 3WXM. For
information about tasks you need to do in the Ekahau Site Survey tool,
please refer to the ESS tool’s documentation.
The site survey example in this chapter is based on the RF coverage area
that follows. For information about displaying RF coverage areas, see
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CHAPTER 8: OPTIMIZING A NETWORK PLAN
Generating an The site survey order contains the locations and MAC addresses of the
Ekahau Site Survey MAPs for use when conducting a site survey, and also provides a JPEG
Work Order image of the floor.
To generate a site survey order
1 Display the floor plan in the Content panel.
2 In the Task List panel, click RF Planning.
3 Under Site Survey, click Report. The Site Survey Order Generation dialog
is displayed.
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Using RF Measurements from an Ekahau Site Survey 183
4 Select the scope for which you want generate a site survey order. You
can specify the Network Plan, an individual site, an individual building, or
an individual floor.
5 Select the language: English or German
6 To change the output directory for the report, click on the button next to
output directory, navigate to the new directory, and click Select.
7 Click Generate.
8 When the report is generated, click View.
A browser window containing the report opens.
9 Click View Site Survey Order to view the site survey work order.
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CHAPTER 8: OPTIMIZING A NETWORK PLAN
10 Browse to the output directory and locate the JPEG file. Copy this file and
import it into your Ekahau Site Survey tool. Proceed with your site survey.
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Using RF Measurements from an Ekahau Site Survey 185
Importing RF After you complete the site survey, you import the csv file containing the
Measurements from RF measurements from the Ekahau Site Survey tool into your network
the Ekahau Site plan. After you import your RF measurements, you optimize to correct
Survey attenuation for obstacles on the floor.
To import RF measurements
1 Display the floor plan in the Content panel.
2 In the Task List panel, click RF Planning.
3 Under Site Survey, click Import Measurement. The Import RF
Measurements wizard is displayed.
4 Select File as the source of the measurements (or, you can select both
Network and File).
5 Select Ekahau from the File Format listbox.
6 Click Choose to navigate to the csv file that contains the RF
measurement data.
7 In the Map Name field, verify the map name.
The map name in the RF Neighborhood Source window must match the
map name in the top line of the .csv file from the Ekahau Site Survey tool.
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CHAPTER 8: OPTIMIZING A NETWORK PLAN
8 Click Next.
The import progress is displayed. When the import is done, check the
Total valid RF measurements found line in the progress messages.
„
If the number is greater than 0, 3WXM successfully imported
measurements.
„
If the number is 0, no measurements were imported. Try the import
again. If you are using a site survey file, verify that the map name is
correct.
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Optimizing the RF Coverage Model 187
After you import your RF measurements, you correct the attenuation
information about this topic.
Optimizing the RF
Coverage Model
An attenuation library is a set of attenuation values for the RF obstacles
on a floor. After you import RF measurements from a site survey or apply
them from the RF measurements in your network to your network plan,
you rebuild a floor’s attenuation library using those RF measurements.
1 Display the floor plan in the Content panel.
2 In the Task List panel, click RF Planning.
3 Under Site Survey in the Task List panel, click Optimize.
A wizard appears, listing the progress of the request.
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CHAPTER 8: OPTIMIZING A NETWORK PLAN
„
The Total number of RF measurements that did not intersect any
object line lists the number of measurements that did not experience
attenuation due to an RF obstacle in the path between them.
If the measurements came from a site survey file, they are
measurements between the deployed MAPs and the Ekahau Site
Survey tool performing the survey. If the measurements came from
MAP radios in the network, they are measurements between MAP
radios.
„
The Total number of objects that will be corrected line indicates the
number of measurements that did experience attenuation. For
existing RF objects, 3WXM corrects the attenuation to match the
results. If the floor plan does not have an RF obstacle where the
attenuation library indicates one exists, 3WXM creates an RF obstacle.
For RF obstacles created by 3WXM, the description is
auto-generated and the obstacle type is Other. You can edit these
values by selecting the obstacle, clicking the Edit properties icon to
open the Modify RF Obstacle wizard, and modifying the values. Click
Finish to close the wizard and save the changes.
4 Click Finish.
You have optimized your RF coverage model with the new RF obstacle
information. Now you can locate and fix coverage holes, or if necessary,
replan your network.
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Locating and Fixing Coverage Holes 189
Locating and Fixing
Coverage Holes
After you import RF measurements and rebuild the attenuation library,
you can look for coverage holes by displaying coverage. To locate
coverage holes:
„
Display the optimized RF coverage area to view the results of the
corrected attenuation data.
„
Lock down deployed MAPs in the coverage area (so that 3WXM will
not move MAPs in your network plan during the compute and place
process).
„
„
Compute and place MAPs.
Replan your network based on compute and place results.
Displaying the RF Display the RF coverage area to view the RF coverage based on the
Coverage Area corrected attenuation data.
To display the RF coverage area
1 Select the RF Planning option in the main 3WXM tool bar.
2 Display the floor plan in the Content panel.
3 In the Task List panel, click RF Planning.
4 In the Show RF coverage using listbox, select how you want to display the
coverage:
„
Baseline Association Rate—Coverage is shown based on the MAP
radio baseline association rate. The baseline association rate is the
typical data rate the radio is expected to support for client
associations. (The baseline association rate is specified during
planning, on a coverage area basis.)
„
„
Data Rate—Coverage is shown in colored bands that represent each
of the data transmit rates supported by the radio. These rates are
standard for each radio type.
RSSI—Coverage is shown based on the received signal strength
indication (RSSI) of the radio’s signal heard by other radios.
5 In the Coverage Areas section of the Organizer panel, select the scope for
which you want to display coverage. You can display coverage for an
individual radio, a specific coverage area, or all coverage areas on the floor.
„
To select multiple contiguous objects, click Shift while selecting.
To select multiple noncontiguous objects, click Ctrl while selecting.
„
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190
CHAPTER 8: OPTIMIZING A NETWORK PLAN
6 On the toolbar, click the radio type (A, B, or G) for which you want to
display coverage.
Coverage for the selected scope(s) is displayed. This example shows
802.11a coverage, by transmit data rate, for the coverage area CoverA.
Locking Down MAPs To prevent 3WXM from moving a MAP on your network plan that you do
not want to be redistributed, lock the MAP down.
To lock down a MAP
1 Display the RF coverage area.
For information about how to display the RF coverage area, see
2 Right-click on a MAP in the RF coverage area, and select Lock.
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Locating and Fixing Coverage Holes 191
Fixing a Coverage After you import RF measurements, rebuild the attenuation library, and
Hole display coverage, you can observe any wireless coverage holes in the
network. To fix a coverage hole, use either of the following methods:
„
Lock the MAPs in place, and use the Compute and Place task to
recompute the number of MAPs needed and their recommended
placement. If this results in new MAPs being added, install the new
MAPs.
„
Install new MAPs and add them to the network plan. Using this
method, you install the new MAP first, then integrate it into your
network plan.
Computing and The procedure for computing and placing new MAPs is the same as the
on page 144.) Using this procedure, you can determine the number and
location of additional MAPs you should add to your network.
Replanning Your After you have computed and placed new MAPs in the network plan, you
Network will need to add the MAPs to your network. For information about
adding MAPs to your network, see the Wireless LAN Switch and
Controller Hardware Installation Guide. This guide contains instructions
and specifications for installing an MAP access point and connecting it to
a WX switch.
After you install a new MAP in the network and you want to add it to the
network plan, do the following:
1 Select the RF Planning tool bar option.
2 In the Content panel, display the floor plan where the MAP is to be
installed.
3 In the Organizer panel, click on Coverage Areas.
4 Right-click the Coverage Area to which the MAP is to be associated, and
select Edit Properties from the menu. The Coverage Area Properties
dialog for the selected coverage area appears.
5 Click the Associations tab to display area associations information for
the coverage area.
6 In the Available Access Points box, select one or more available MAPs to
use in the coverage area, then click Add to move the MAPs to the
Current Access Points box.
7 Click OK to close the dialog box.
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192
CHAPTER 8: OPTIMIZING A NETWORK PLAN
8 In the Organizer panel, click on Objects to Place. A list of the MAPs you
created is displayed in the panel.
9 Click on the MAP icon, then click on the location where you installed the
MAP. The MAP icon moves from the Objects To Place panel to its location
on the floor.
What’s Next?
You can create a backup copy of your updated network plan, and
distribute the 3WXM configuration to other WX switches.
For information about administrative tasks, see “Perform Basic
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OBTAINING SUPPORT FOR
YOUR 3COM PRODUCTS
A
3Com offers product registration, case management, and repair services
through eSupport.3com.com.You must have a user name and password
to access these services, which are described in this appendix.
Register Your
Product to Gain
Service Benefits
To take advantage of warranty and other service benefits, you must first
register your product at:
3Com eSupport services are based on accounts that are created or that
you are authorized to access.
Solve Problems
Online
3Com offers the following support tool:
■
3Com Knowledgebase — Helps you to troubleshoot 3Com
products. This query-based interactive tool is located at:
It contains thousands of technical solutions written by 3Com support
engineers.
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194
APPENDIX A: OBTAINING SUPPORT FOR YOUR 3COM PRODUCTS
Purchase Extended
Warranty and
Professional
Services
To enhance response times or extend your warranty benefits, you can
purchase value-added services such as 24x7 telephone technical support,
software upgrades, onsite assistance, or advanced hardware
replacement.
Experienced engineers are available to manage your installation with
minimal disruption to your network. Expert assessment and
implementation services are offered to fill resource gaps and ensure the
success of your networking projects. For more information on 3Com
Extended Warranty and Professional Services, see:
Contact your authorized 3Com reseller or 3Com for additional product
and support information. See the table of access numbers later in this
appendix.
Access Software
Downloads
You are entitled to bug fix / maintenance releases for the version of
software that you initially purchased with your 3Com product. To obtain
access to this software, you need to register your product and then use
the Serial Number as your login. Restricted Software is available at:
http://eSupport.3com.com/
To obtain software releases that follow the software version that you
originally purchased, 3Com recommends that you buy an Express or
Guardian contract, a Software Upgrades contract, or an equivalent
support contract from 3Com or your reseller. Support contracts that
include software upgrades cover feature enhancements, incremental
functionality, and bug fixes, but they do not include software that is
released by 3Com as a separately ordered product. Separately orderable
software releases and licenses are listed in the 3Com Price List and are
available for purchase from your 3Com reseller.
Contact Us
3Com offers telephone, internet, and e-mail access to technical support
and repair services. To access these services for your region, use the
appropriate telephone number, URL, or e-mail address from the table in
the next section.
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Contact Us 195
Telephone Technical To obtain telephone support as part of your warranty and other service
Support and Repair benefits, you must first register your product at:
When you contact 3Com for assistance, please have the following
information ready:
■
■
■
■
Product model name, part number, and serial number
A list of system hardware and software, including revision level
Diagnostic error messages
Details about recent configuration changes, if applicable
To send a product directly to 3Com for repair, you must first obtain a
return materials authorization number (RMA). Products sent to 3Com
without authorization numbers clearly marked on the outside of the
package will be returned to the sender unopened, at the sender’s
expense. If your product is registered and under warranty, you can obtain
must apply for a user name and password.
Telephone numbers are correct at the time of publication. Find a current
directory of 3Com resources by region at:
Country
Telephone Number
Country
Telephone Number
Asia, Pacific Rim — Telephone Technical Support and Repair
Australia
Hong Kong
India
Indonesia
Japan
Malaysia
New Zealand
1800 075 316
2907 0456
000 800 440 1193
001 803 852 9825
03 3507 5984
1800 812 612
0800 450 454
Philippines
1800 144 10220 or
029003078
800 810 0504
800 616 1463
080 698 0880
00801 444 318
001 800 441 2152
PR of China
Singapore
South. Korea
Taiwan
Thailand
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196
APPENDIX A: OBTAINING SUPPORT FOR YOUR 3COM PRODUCTS
Country
Telephone Number
Country
Telephone Number
Pakistan Call the U.S. direct by dialing 00 800 01001, then dialing 800 763 6780
Sri Lanka Call the U.S. direct by dialing 02 430 430, then dialing 800 763 6780
Vietnam Call the U.S. direct by dialing 1 201 0288, then dialing 800 763 6780
You can also obtain non-urgent support in this region at this email address [email protected]
Or request a return material authorization number (RMA) by FAX using this number: +61 2 9937 5048, or send an
email at this email address: [email protected]
Europe, Middle East, and Africa — Telephone Technical Support and Repair
From anywhere in these regions not listed below, call: +44 1442 435529
From the following countries, call the appropriate number:
Austria
Belgium
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Hungary
Ireland
Israel
0800 297 468
0800 71429
800 17309
0800 113153
0800 917959
0800 182 1502
06800 12813
1 800 553 117
180 945 3794
800 879489
Luxembourg
Netherlands
Norway
800 23625
0800 0227788
800 11376
00800 4411 357
800 831416
0800 995 014
900 938 919
020 795 482
0800 553 072
0800 096 3266
Poland
Portugal
South Africa
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
U.K.
Italy
You can also obtain support in this region using this URL: http://emea.3com.com/support/email.html
You can also obtain non-urgent support in this region at these email addresses:
Technical support and general requests: [email protected]
Return material authorization: [email protected]
Contract requests: [email protected]
Latin America — Telephone Technical Support and Repair
Antigua
Argentina
Aruba
Bahamas
Barbados
Belize
Bermuda
Bonaire
Brazil
Cayman
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Curacao
Ecuador
Dominican Republic
1 800 988 2112
0 810 444 3COM
1 800 998 2112
1 800 998 2112
1 800 998 2112
52 5 201 0010
1 800 998 2112
1 800 998 2112
0800 13 3COM
Guatemala
Haiti
Honduras
Jamaica
Martinique
Mexico
Nicaragua
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Puerto Rico
Salvador
Trinidad and Tobago
Uruguay
Venezuela
Virgin Islands
AT&T +800 998 2112
57 1 657 0888
AT&T +800 998 2112
1 800 998 2112
571 657 0888
01 800 849CARE
AT&T +800 998 2112
AT&T +800 998 2112
54 11 4894 1888
AT&T +800 998 2112
1 800 998 2112
AT&T +800 998 2112
1 800 998 2112
AT&T +800 998 2112
AT&T +800 998 2112
57 1 657 0888
1 800 998 2112
AT&T +800 998 2112
AT&T +800 998 2112
AT&T +800 998 2112
1 800 998 2112
AT&T +800 998 2112
AT&T +800 998 2112
You can also obtain support in this region in the following ways:
■
■
■
Spanish speakers, enter the URL: http://lat.3com.com/lat/support/form.html
English speakers in Latin America, send e-mail to: [email protected]
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Contact Us 197
Country
Telephone Number
Country
Telephone Number
US and Canada — Telephone Technical Support and Repair
All locations:
Network Jacks; Wired or Wireless Network Interface Cards:
All other 3Com products:
1 847-262-0070
1 800 876 3266
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198
APPENDIX A: OBTAINING SUPPORT FOR YOUR 3COM PRODUCTS
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INDEX
configurations
deploying 155
exporting 161
importing 161
configuring
Numbers
3WXM
installing 17, 18
3WXM GUI
overview 23
3WXM monitoring service
configuring 21
conventions
installing 17, 18
D
deploy
verifying 157
A
creating 102
AAA security
access control
configuring 23
attributes
E
employee access services
configuring 52
B
End-Date attribute
description 61
C
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200
INDEX
exporting
M
MAPs
configurations 161
creating 101
distributed 101
F
Mobility Domains
Mobility Profiles
G
H
configuring 81
creating 81
definition 81
Mobility-Profile attribute
description 60
monitoring
I
clients 45
image files
examples 163
distributing 159
image repository
using 159
importing
installation
installing 16
rogues 171
verification 47
3WXM 17, 18
equipment 153
hardware 42
N
network plans
K
networks
Knowledgebase 193
L
local changes
deploying 155
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INDEX 201
RF Auto-Tuning
defining 97
RF Auto-Tuning with Modelling
O
RF coverage areas
optimizing
creating 31, 110
planning 135
RF coverage model
optimizing 187
RF obstacles
adding 108
model 133
RF Planning
P
R
radio profiles
configuring 56
preparing floor drawings
RADIUS attributes
VSAs 60
RADIUS servers
configuring 58
repair authorization number by FAX, Asia and Pacific
Rim 196
rogues
monitoring 171
reporting
overview 47
S
saving
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202
INDEX
service profiles
telephone technical support, Asia and Pacific
Rim 195
telephone technical support, Europe, Middle
configuring 61
Time-Of-Day attribute
description 60
services
U
process 29
URL attribute
description 61
users
finding 165
locating 166
site surveys
importing 134
sites
adding 106
defining 123
V
SSID attribute
verification
VLAN-Name attribute
description 60
VLANs
configuring 66
VoWIP
configuring 83
VSAs (vendor-specific attributes)
End-Date 61
description 60
Start-Date attribute
description 61
system image files
adding 159
deleting 159
system images
Mobility-Profile 60
SSID 60
Start-Date 61
distributing 159
supported 60
Time-Of-Day 60
URL 61
VLAN-Name 60
T
technical support, Europe, Middle East, and
Africa 196
W
wiring closets
adding 135
telephone technical support for Latin
America 196
telephone technical support for US and
Canada 197
creating 110
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INDEX 203
work orders
generating 151
WX switches
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204
INDEX
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